The Riverina region has featured well in last week’s Australian Hotels Association (NSW) awards with the Temora Railway Hotel and the Coolamon Hotel along with four pubs from Wagga recognised in the 2026 awards Coolamon Hotel was recognised as the Best Deluxe Pub Accommodation in NSW and the Railway Hotel took the gong for Best Regional Casual Dining (Western). There were more than 850 nominations received across 47 categories with 1400 industry, political and business leaders gathering at a gala event at Randwick Racecourse last Tuesday 27 October to celebrate the annual awards for excellence. NSW Australian Hotels Association (AHA) CEO John Whelan said the winners represented the best and brightest in the industry. “These hotels range from mum and dad operations in the most remote parts of the state to multi-level entertainment precincts in our nation’s greatest city,” Mr Whelan said. “They directly employ 72,000 people, raise millions of dollars for charity each and every year and add $6.8 billion in value to the NSW economy. “I would like to congratulate all our hotels for their work throughout the year, particularly todays award winners,” he said. Temora’s Railway Hotel current licensees have only been in the business for two and a half years and have taken out an award each year. Leanne and David Boswell had never been in the pub business before coming to Temora and buying the Railway Hotel. Last year they won the coveted Best Parmi award, but Mr Boswell said that this year’s award of Best Regional Casual Dining (Western) eclipses the last years award as it celebrates all the employees throughout the pub. “It includes the kitchen, the sous chef, the pizza chef and it also includes all the front of house and the service they put forward, and the bar serving drinks and looking after clientele,” Mr Boswell said. “It's an overall team effort from the pub that's been recognised by the awards, which is fantastic.” The hotel employs five staff in the kitchen at any one time as well as two providing front of house service and up to three behind the bar in peak times as well as a cleaning crew. “Staff are the key,” Mr Boswell added. “They're the ones that get you through the hard times. “You stand on the shoulders of the staff because they just make it possible, they're the backbone.” Ms Boswell attributes the success to the atmosphere of home that has been created in the pub. “We live upstairs, which is our home, and downstairs is our business,” she said. “So, every time you walk through those doors, you become part of that family. “We've tried to do a service for the community as a family and look after people. “We've purchased a courtesy bus where we'll take people home, because that's important to us, that people are safe. “We've become a place of family gatherings.” The Coolamon Hotel only reopened a little over 12 months ago after being closed for five years. Operated by a group of locals, the pub is undergoing a five-year redevelopment plan with one of the first features to be developed was the accommodation. There are four deluxe, boutique style rooms all with king size beds and ensuites and fitted out with the latest technology. The pub is owned by Craig Paterson, Megan Taylor and Ryan Bartholomew and wife Mel. Mr Bartholomew said that it’s not your traditional pub accommodation and is a really nice design for couples and it was very special to be recognised for that in the awards. “There's the emotional investment and then there's the financial investment into not just the accommodation piece but the entire building and it surrounds and to be acknowledged or recognised in a small way is pretty special and I guess it's not what we do it for. “It's about providing for our community bringing people into the town to promote our town and not just Coolamon but our area.”
