Walrus Social House

Alcohol wasn’t easy to come by in these parts back in the mid 1800s, so a foolhardy yet enterprising ‘Bosun’, James Stewart, went about setting this straight. Through genius ingenuity and iron will, he hand built a floating rum distillery aboard an old paddle wheeler steamship he lovingly named, SS Walrus. James and his Walrus sailed the Nerang River distilling local folks’ sugar cane into prized Walrus Rum for three years keeping spirits high onshore while giving customs officers a rum-for-their-money trying to account for all the gallons produced!

From the golden fields of cane, a legend was born. The Walrus Social House is a tribute to James and his trusty SS Walrus. This is why we are a heritage inspired establishment built on traditional sugar cane earth that bore the fruits of the Walrus stills – the very steamship moored in the Nerang River on our back doorstep. This is why we are bringing back the social decency of sharing good drinks and fare with good people. Being community. Being entertained. Breathing in life. Breathing out worries. Living in the moment. As James would want us to.