WHAT have Ma Murphy and Ned Kelly got to do with the Benambra Hotel?
Well, Ma fought tooth and nail to establish it, while Ned was probably a famous visitor.
Ask any seasoned veteran of Benambra to tell you about the old weatherboard hotel and the stories seem to always begin with Ma Murphy.
Ma was a very productive soul, not only bearing 12 children but also successfully running an illegal shanty dispensing home-brewed hard liquor from the 1870s onward, coinciding with the discovery of gold in the nearby hills and creeks.
The exact components of Ma's brew have never been recorded, but according to folklore and local historian Judy Pendergast, you apparently had to be very desperate to drink it. And desperate they were, those prospectors.
Ma was forever running foul of the law with her illegal business. Nevertheless she was not one to be defeated and on several occasions she, along with many other shanty keepers, applied unsuccessfully for a licence to establish a proper hotel at Benambra.
Most of the knockbacks were due to opposition from the licensee of a hotel at Hinnomunjie, a few kilometres south of Benambra.
Those knockbacks continued until the turn of the century, when in 1901 a local referendum gave the green light for the existing Benambra Hotel.
The fact the number of votes cast was nearly twice the number of local resident on official rolls didn't seem to matter.
What mattered more was that Benambra got a fully licensed hotel, although that was no comfort to Ma Murphy, who The Weekly Times understands had already moved on.
As for Ned Kelly, the local folklore is that Ned spent several weeks in the district, or at least in the hills and the surrounding bushland, while on the run from the law.
And of course one would have expected that Ma Murphy, with her Irish background, would have helped young Ned.
Today the Benambra Hotel stands, very much as it has done for more than 100 years, on the town's only major intersection.
One road goes to Corryong, another to Omeo, another to the saleyards and beyond, and the fourth to the dry Lake Omeo.
Apart from one small illuminated sign, it is hard to tell whether or not the Benambra Hotel is actually a hotel.
The signage would certainly not offend the Uniting Church on the adjacent corner.
The current licensees and owners of the pub, John Ward-Jones and John de Boer, are better known as Jonesy and Johnno.
Both are builders from Sale and both are long-time musicians running their own band, the Love Handles.
Jonesy said they had only been at Benambra since November and were still getting accustomed to hotel life, including the patronage.
They have plans to lift the profile of the hotel, including painting a big "Benambra Hotel" on the roof.
"When you first see it, looks like a school hall," Jonesy said.
The patronage is highly variable, depending on the occasion and the season.
With a population of only 150, much of the business depends on passers-by and tourists, particularly fishing groups and the motorcyclists heading between Omeo and Corryong.
The big occasions for Benambra are the mountain calf sales and the Hinnomunjie races, both held in March, and the nearby Omeo rodeo at Easter.
There used to be speedboat races on Lake Omeo, but unfortunately that has been dry for nearly three decades.
The former Benambra Mine, which has had a chequered history in gold, copper and zinc, has at times been good for hotel business.
Jonesy has his fingers crossed that new exploratory work by current mine owner Jabiru Metals might soon be worth an extra few beers.
The hotel's accommodation is basic, at a bed and breakfast rate of $35.
As with many good old-fashioned country pubs, a $24 steak and a $19 chicken "parma" are the standard fare.
But while the outsiders are good for business, the Benambra Hotel is very much vital to the local community - as a meeting place, eatery and entertainment venue.
And if you are there on the right night, Jonesy and Johnno might strike up the band and sing you a tune.
