Goldfields Getaway
30 March, 2021
A new lease of life for derelict pub
Take a short drive anywhere around the outskirts of Maryborough and they are not hard to miss. Crumbling blue-stone walls, remnants that hold the memory of a time when the central goldfields was a thriving frontier outpost, bustling with...

Take a short drive anywhere around the outskirts of Maryborough and they are not hard to miss. Crumbling blue-stone walls, remnants that hold the memory of a time when the central goldfields was a thriving frontier outpost, bustling with gold-fevered miners, store owners, bakers, butchers and – most common of all – pubs.
Much of the past is now hidden by trees and long grass, or serves as shelter for local livestock. But some, like the pub at Red Lion, have been offered a new lease of life as they are restored as homes for a new generation of owners.
Lisa Vuillermin never intended to buy a tumble-down 1850’s era pub. She came to the area about five years ago to look for a house for her sister, and as they were looking through a local real estate magazine Lisa came across an ad for the old pub at Red Lion.
“I said to my sister, ‘I’d love to go and look at that, that looks really interesting,” Lisa said.
“So we went and looked at it and it was a little bit romantic. I just sort of fell in love with the idea of the project and actually rang the agent on the way home and made an offer.
“I saw it that day without any intention of buying anything, but made an offer the same day.”
Although few people would impulse-buy a derelict pub, Lisa was not totally naïve about the work involved in restoring the building back to its former glory. For many years Lisa worked as an ‘apprentice’ to a woman whose passion was restoring old homes and buildings.
“Eve Hayman was an extraordinary woman with an extraordinary amount of knowledge. She restored a number of Victorian homes in Melbourne, and she also did a beautiful stone property in Kyneton.
“She was the foreman on all of her jobs – very hands on. She managed every tradesperson; she didn’t employ a builder to oversee it.
“Working with her there was lots of sweeping floors and painting walls but also helping her source materials; going out and finding that one place in Melbourne that sells that particular skirting board from that particular era.”
One of the first things Lisa needed to do was rebuild the walls ready to install the roof and protect the building from the weather.
“It was starting to crumble; the rain had got down in all the walls and was starting to effect the mortar. With old buildings there’s a point where you can’t bring them back. The pub was at that point where I thought if someone doesn’t do this it will be gone.”
Lisa’s mentor’s son, Mark, is partnering with her on the project, and together they are working on a vision for the old pub that is beginning to take shape. They have intentionally used local tradespeople and suppliers since the project began. Local stone mason Paul Middleton completed the work needed on the walls, and the roof trusses were completed by builder Tim Carroll.
One person who has a particular interest in the pub is local resident Carol Pascoe. Carol’s family go back for generations in the goldfields and her ancestors once owned the Red Lion pub.
“Back in those days there were over 100 pubs in the goldfields,” Carol said.
“This was just one more pub on the road between Clunes and Maryborough, and like all pubs, it has its share of stories.”
While Carol has no specific memories of tales told at the pub, she has a few family photos taken back in the 1800s when it was a thriving business. One image shows the Nicholson family, of which Carol is a descendant, standing proudly outside the premises in their finest clothes.
Like many families, stories have been passed down the generations and Carol says it is difficult to know what is true and what isn’t. At one stage there was talk that the pub was being run as a house of ‘ill repute’; another story has babies born to female staff that may or may not belong to the family’s many sons.
Whatever the past held, as the new owner, Lisa is determined the future is a bit more certain for the beautiful bluestone building.
“We will soon be at the stage of making it a habitable building,” Lisa said.
“Whether we use it as a weekender or a home, we’re both very keen to get it finished so that it is a livable house. We are also in the process of restoring the garden. Mark is very busy planting about 100 trees on the property.
“Or, we have talked about potentially selling it when we finish and doing another one because we have both enjoyed the process so much – most days!
“I drive past those buildings and think, ‘It’s so beautiful, if someone doesn’t take it on it will be gone forever’.
“I like making things beautiful again.”