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In an unassuming rural hamlet, two hours’ drive south-east of Melbourne, a little country pub is growing a big reputation as a popular live music venue in regional Victoria.
Nestled between the rustic cliffs of Bass Coast and South Gippsland’s dairy farms and green, rolling hills, Archies Creek is a village of 16 houses, a pub, a hall, a telephone booth, a junkyard and an evangelical church.
Outdoor lawn and seating areas around the music stage create a relaxed festival atmosphere. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Having run venues for 20 years, most famously the Caravan Music Club in Melbourne, tree-changers Peter Foley, and his partner Mary Howlett moved to Archies Creek six years ago, buying the Archies Creek Hotel.
Redecorating the venue with an intimate cabaret lounge, the once sleepy pub was re-imagined with an inner Melbourne rock’n’roll pub vibe and a touch of laid-back country bohemia.
Quiz nights, poetry readings, life drawing classes and movie nights are held at the pub. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
The Archies Creek Hotel has since become a pivotal meeting place for locals, frequented by a largely mature crowd seeking nostalgic outings, new cultural experiences and community connections.
“It’s a different kind of venue, there’s just an energy about the place,” publican Peter Foley said.
“It’s an opportunity for people to gather and celebrate music and community.”
An outdoor stage built during the COVID pandemic enabled the hotel to host large concerts during summer. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
“Everybody wants to play here, local and even international musicians love playing here because it’s a little trip to somewhere else.”
With a mailing list of 18,000, the Archies Creek Hotel runs movies every Thursday night, live music from Friday to Sunday as well as comedy and quiz nights, choral singing, life-drawing classes, spoken word and poetry readings.
“This venue can be anything — it’s a chameleon venue, because it’s outdoors, it’s a bit rustic, it’s a bit odd, and it works with any type of music and it’s in the middle of nowhere, but it still works,” Mr Foley said.
Greg Walker of Machine Translations performing at Archies Creek. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
A mix of old and new
Veteran radio broadcaster, semi-professional musician and civil celebrant Jon Von Goes moved to Archies Creek as part of Peter and Mary’s campaign to re-populate the town with “music types”.
Jon Von Goes and partner Celia Church host quiz nights at the pub and perform as duo Jonnie goes to Church. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Living within stumbling distance of the pub, he has since become the unofficial “captain” of the Archies Creek Arts Council that curates a calendar of music and arts events to keep the pub and district parishioners entertained.
Recent set lists have included The Models, Weddings Parties Anything and You Am I.
Mr Von Goes says people are still buying merchandise at gigs such as vinyl records and tea towels. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
“The most popular gigs are the people who had hits in the 70s, Ross Wilson, Jo Camilleri and James Reyne,” Mr Von Goes said.
“They’re great gigs because they’re established professionals who are great show people,” he said, recalling a visit by some retired Phillip Island surfers who hugged and cried through a performance of Girls on the Avenue, when Richard Clapton recently played.
“People come to remember their golden years, when they were falling in love for the first time.”
Nostalgia is a pull factor for music lovers. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Keeping the show going
Despite the altruistic intentions of owner Peter Foley and the local community’s strong appetite for music and arts, balancing the books remains an ongoing struggle with ever increasing costs, including an annual $45,000 insurance bill.
With the hotel almost hitting financial breaking point last year, Mr Foley turned to the public for help, calling out for subscribers to pay a $30 annual membership fee, in exchange for priority access to tickets and member discounts.
Archies Creek Hotel held 60 events over the summer. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas )
“Rather than seeking government support, we’ve gone to the community, and we’ve had an incredible response because people love the place and they wanted to support it, because there’s a bit of a cultural vacuum down here,” Mr Foley said.
“As soon as we put it out there that we were seeking community support, it came in abundance — we’ve had 1,041 people join up so far.”
He believes the community subscription model is a much more direct and efficient means of generating funds than applying for grants, and could be applied to venues facing similar challenges across Australia.
“I actually think it’s a viable model for sustaining a venue, if younger people really took possession of it,” Mr Foley said.
Community subscribers pay an annual membership fee, keeping the venue’s doors open. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
With three residences on the property, the venue also offers space for songwriter retreats and rehearsal camps.
“It’s a business, but it’s a community business, it’s not like there is an emphasis on just being a pub — there has always been a vibe and a community — we’re in the happiness business,”
Mr Foley said.
The Archies Creek Hotel is decorated with vintage album covers and bill posters. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
Now in his mid-60s, and getting beyond the late nights of the “hospo grind”, the relentless physical work of running a bar and the 7am trips to the tip to recycle countless empty bottles, Mr Foley is looking for someone to run the bar and kitchen or a new owner to take gradual possession of the venue over time.
“I still love the place and I want it to keep going and I’m happy to guide anybody who has got any energy to deal with the physical work,” he said.
Mr Foley has transformed the Archies Creek Hotel into a thriving music venue in the space of six years. (ABC Gippsland: Rachael Lucas)
“It’s not a business that you can make a lot of money out of, but you make enough to survive.
“We have a holiday every year and we have a lot of fun — it depends what you define as success really.
“It feels like you’re doing something decent and worthwhile, but if it was just about the money, you wouldn’t do it.”
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