As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life. And that’s one reason why the remote Duchess Hotel in north west Queensland is popular for truckies who are in the area.
Duchess is a small town with a population of 60, situated on the mostly dirt 170km long Cloncurry to Dajarra Road in north west Queensland.
Veteran driver Laurie told Spy it was a great place to stop for a number of reasons.
“The owners and staff are friendly, the drinks are cold and you get treated with bush hospitality,” he said.
Spy has been there and can verify that. In the bar you will also meet many characters who have a tale to tell.
I spoke to publican Mick Jess who runs the pub with his partner Fleur Brown.
“We get a lot of different trucks stopping here, mostly Kenworths. But also Volvo, a Peterbilt from Cloncurry and the odd Mack,” Mick said.
He added that there was a variety of meals on the menu including something different at nights.
“Last night we had Chinese food, and truckies love crumbed steak or rump. But they appreciate a choice,” he said.
Mick added that the road gets graded regularly and is in general good condition.
“We had a lot of water trucks stop here this week,” he said.
Cloncurry Dajarra Road commences at an intersection with the Barkly Highway.
Duchess is surrounded by a number of pastoral stations including Mayfield station and Stradbroke station. Fleur’s family also has a big property nearby.