28-04-2025
The Sydney pub that inspired one of Australia's most famous songs is up for sale
Calling all aspiring publicans: a beloved Sydney pub has just hit the market, and this one comes with its own place in Australia's cultural history.
If the ubiquitous lyrics 'I love to have a beer with Duncan,' strike a chord, then perhaps you're in the market for purchasing a piece of memorabilia steeped in Slim Dusty lore. Specifically: the pub that inspired that very song.
The Town and Country Hotel in St Peters (where Slim famously says "the atmosphere is great") has just been listed for sale, with Highland Commercial Property sales agent Peter Seeto telling ABC News he expects the iconic pub to go for $5 million. If you've got some spare change laying around and the thought of the Town and Country Hotel being turned into craft brewery doesn't sit right in your soul, then this might be the investment for you.
Want to dive a bit deeper into the history? As the story goes, life insurance salesman Pat Alexander was giving the hard sell to a man named Duncan Urquhart. They met at the Town and Country Hotel and got to chatting about everything under the sun. Well, everything except life insurance.
Alexander didn't sell Duncan any life insurance but it did inspire the lyrics to 'Duncan', which was later recorded by country music legend Slim Dusty before becoming a hit in the '80s.
We drink at the Town and Country
Where the atmosphere is great
I love to have a beer with Duncan
'Cause Duncan's me mate
St Peters is in Sydney's Inner West, so there's no doubt this will be a highly sought after slice of land. However, not everyone wants to see the Town and Country Hotel demolished. Photographer and author John Elliot – who worked with Slim Dusty for over two decades – told ABC News he thinks this iconic pub should be listed on the National Trust.
"If you're a Catholic, you go to the Vatican. If you're an Australian, you should be going to the Town and Country Hotel in Sydney,' he said before adding it should be placed in a 'glass case'.
Unfortunately, even if the Town and Country Hotel's fate is yet to be sealed, you can't even head down there for one last beer with Dunc (or Col). The venue shut up shop back in 2023 due to the owners and landlords reaching a stalemate on agreeing to trading terms. 'It is with great sadness we write this message to inform you that we've had to cease trading as our doors have been locked suddenly and abruptly,' the owners wrote on a Facebook post.
'We've made many attempts to work harmoniously and reasonably with our landlord on building repairs, continuous complaints from neighbours and also our rent, resulting in an unsuccessful mediation.'
