New but familiar faces at The Port of Bourke Hotel

The Port of Bourke is under the new management of Liam and Tiffanie Rice. Photo TWH

There are two new, but very familiar faces behind the bar at the Port of Bourke Hotel.

Local Bourke couple Liam and Tiffanie Rice have taken on the role as licensees, and for Liam it is the fulfilment of a long-held ambition.

Liam and Tiffanie now have plans to take the iconic pub into the next chapter of its long history, making it more family friendly and in many ways, turning the clock back to the idyllic days when life was a little more carefree.

“I always wanted to run my own pub, but I thought we’d do it later in life, and then this opportunity came up and I thought ‘Why not give it a go?’” Liam said.

“It’s such a fantastic old pub and I have many fond memories of it from over the years.

“It’s a bit different being behind the bar, not in front of it though. I have had many nights over the years with the rugby club and parties and so on, and it is quite different being behind the bar, but it’s also very enjoyable,” he said.

It’s not Liam’s first rodeo as a bar staffer though as he has worked there previously, as well as at the Bourke Bowling Club and the North Bourke Pub.

“I have not been a publican before, but I know just about every local who walks in and it’s lovely to see everyone coming in and checking it out,” he said.

Liam is a true Bourkeite, born and bred into one of the town’s most well-known families and wife Tiffanie is equally qualified to be regarded as a Bourke blue-blood. She is a member of the Morrall family which ran the bakery for more than a century.

When it comes to knowing their target market, there would be few people more qualified for the job than Liam and Tiffanie.

“I was actually a diesel mechanic by trade and then managed the Bourke Bowling Cub and was in and out of the bar game before I got into project management which I did for about 16 years,” Liam said. […]

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