Fran Harding was a stay-at-home mother of eight children when her pharmacist husband came home one night with the news that the family were moving to Charleville in Western Queensland to run a pub.

Gordan had spontaneously leased a pub, and Fran was to be its new publican.

So, with their kids in tow (including a little baby), they set off.

Fran set up her sewing machine behind the bar and did her best to work out how to pull beers, understand what the locals were saying and keep tabs on her brood.

Then Fran’s husband fell in love with the pub across the street – the once grand hotel, The Corones.

The Harding family moved in, learning about its history as ‘The Taj Mahal of the Warrego’ and doing their best to return the pub to its former glory.

Fran has published two books about her life and about the Corones Hotel, called The Accidental Australians and The Accidental Publican.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores Australian history, stories, outback, the bush, Queensland, Quilpie, Migration, Great Australians, 1990 flood, recovering after natural disasters, social history, outback characters, hospitality, running a business, big families, motherhood, historic hotels, writing, books, memoir, Greek-Australians, small town Australia, working mothers, how to run a pub, renovating historic buildings, Harry Corones, Kythira, Poppa, Greece, Mediterranean Islands, Greek Orthodox, Greek diaspora, Australian pioneers.

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