Sam Knott Hotel

The Sam Knott Hotel is located at the foot of Mount Little Joe in the winter you can enjoy the ambience of several open fire places and enjoy all day Devonshire tea whilst enjoying the tranquil views of the sorrounding moutains from our bay window.In the warmer months you can enjoy the sunshine and fresh air in our beer garden laden with native ferns. We have a 'kiddies corner" to keep them entertained also pool tables and a juke box for the bigger kids. We are open for lunch and dinner everyday day, our menu consists of old favourites, seafood (we are reknowned with the locals for our fresh Tasmanian oysters that we get delivered daily), vegetarian options, pastas, steaks, parmas and hearty homestyle meals, exactly what you would expect in an old country pub. We also offer seniors menu, childrens menu, homemade desserts & takeaway meals. Gluten free meals are availible and we do cater for any other dietry needs or allergies. We also cater for functions especially weddings, we have a range of sit down set menus and finger food options starting at $15 a head.




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The History of the Sam Knott Hotel:

The Sam Knott Hotel has high local significance as one of the districts oldest remaining heritage listed hotels. Located on its current site from 1885 and ( it is said) on an earlier site at Old Warburton from about 1864.

Edward Buller was the first owner of the hotel. When gold production declined in the area in the 1870's, Buller decided to move his hotel to West Warburton (currently known from 1925 as Wesburn). In 1885 according to one account he, "moved his Warburton Hotel by bullock dray down to West Warburton".

In 1886 the Cobb and Co coach stables were moved from the Alpine Retreat Hotel to The Warburton Hotel and operated for almost a decade making Buller's hotel extremely popular.

Interesting features of the hotel are the "Char Lintels" above serval openings. These lintels are a mixture of charcoal and cement which is very bright but also quite strong. The bistro area contains a small roof over the bar constructed using palings from the original roof of the building. The bistro was originally the main bar and Buller also ran a general store from there too. The area that is presently the main bar was previously the "ladies lounge" and in the 1920s and 30s Clunings Taxi service and a dentists surgery were also ran from there.

History of Sam Knott:

The Warburton Hotel is currently known as The Sam Knott Hotel, named after a former goldminer who was the subject of a famous poster for Carlton Ale.

Sam Knott worked as a gardener at McVeigh’s Upper Yarra Hotel. A young Melbourne artist sold his sketch of Sam Knott drinking at McVeigh’s to the Carlton Brewery. The portrait came to be seen in just about every hotel in Victoria with the verse: ‘I allus have one at eleven/ it’s a habit wot’s gotta be done/ Cos if I don’t have one at eleven/ I allus have eleven at one’ Knott was regarded as the ‘archetypical old timer’ . He is buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Wesburn cemetery.

The reason for The Warburton Hotel adopting the title of The Sam knott Hotel is that rumour has it whilst Sams body was being transported to the wesburn cemetery by horse and cart his coffin fell off the back of the cart out onto what is now Warburton Highway right out the front of the Warburton Hotel. Poor old Sam's pine coffin smashed open so the Horsemen dragged him in to the hotel and propped him up onto the bar, there they waited for the minister to arrive and held the funeral in the pub.The unfourtunate tale of his demise can be read on the brick pillars in the bistro.... Many stories surround the hotel and linger, like the ghost of Sam Knott…