ABOUT
THE KYNETON HOTEL
Since 1868, The Kyneton Hotel has been a meeting place for locals and travellers alike.
A neighbourhood place where people have swapped stories of adventure over a pint and pub meal for over 150 years.
Lovingly restored in the early 2020’s, The Kyneton Hotel unashamedly remains a great country pub and the heartbeat of the town.
OUR HISTORY
In 1868 a Jane Murphy risked all the capital she had raised as the licensee of the nearby Rising Sun Hotel to purchase land on the corner of Mollison and Market Streets and built her own pub. That pub is now known as The Kyneton Hotel.
The hotel first opened on the 16th of September 1869 to service the locals and passing goldfield prospectors. Just over 7 months later, in June of 1870, a 16-year-old lad was invited to stay for 10 days and 9 nights, in a room that was paid for by Sgt James Babington.
The young man duly accepted the invitation. He appreciated the warmth of fresh sheets and blankets, along with a room with windows to bring in the light as he had spent the previous three weeks incarcerated in the dark, cold, and dreary bluestone cells of the Kyneton Police Station.
The young man was Ned Kelly.
The sargeant paid the bill in the hope Kelly would lead police to another outlaw, Harry Power. But two months later, Sgt Babington wrote to his superiors seeking reimbursement for Kelly’s hotel bill.
New publican Jane Murphy soon gained the respect of the public, providing some of the town’s finest ales, substantial food, and warm country hospitality.
Over the past century and a half, the hotel has featured as a meeting place for family and friends and lays claim to hosting meetings for almost all sporting and other community associations over the past century.
Since Jane Murphy’s time, there have been many publicans come and go, and yet all have been steadfast in providing locals and travellers with the same country hospitality that Kyneton has come to know and love.
YOUR HOSTS
Your hosts since 2020 and the current custodians of The Kyneton Hotel are Sam and Alison.
Quick with a smile and a friendly chat, Sam, Alison and their team are committed to bringing the best of country pub hospitality to locals and traveling visitors.