Located just 45 minutes north of Melbourne, the Magpie & Stump Hotel is a welcoming country pub in the heart of Wandong, surrounded by the rolling hills and bushland of central Victoria.

With a traditional Australian pub atmosphere, hearty meals, a spacious beer garden and plenty of room to relax, the Magpie & Stump is an ideal stop for riders exploring the roads north of Melbourne or travelling between the Victorian High Country and the city. The hotel currently offers bistro dining, alfresco areas, a sports bar and beer garden, making it a great place to stop, refuel and enjoy some country hospitality.

A Pub With a Story

The story of the Magpie & Stump goes back well beyond the current building.

In 1876, David Pickup became the licensee of the Travellers Rest Hotel, a rough early hotel serving travellers making their way through Wandong and the surrounding Plenty Ranges. Over the following decades, the hotel became an important meeting place for the growing community.

The pub wasn't simply somewhere to enjoy a drink. Local meetings were held there, social groups gathered there and the hotel was even used for official enquiries into accidents associated with Wandong's growing timber industry.

The original Travellers Rest Hotel met a dramatic end in the great Wandong fire of 1933, when the hotel was destroyed. Its licence was surrendered shortly afterwards, and Wandong entered a remarkable 61-year period without a traditional hotel.

Then, in 1994, the Magpie & Stump Hotel opened on the same site as the original Travellers Rest. The new hotel was deliberately designed to reflect Wandong's history, incorporating local historical photographs and references to the district's timber industry.

Today, the Magpie & Stump continues the tradition of being a meeting place for the Wandong community.

Things to See & Do

Wandong's history is closely tied to timber, gold and transport, making the surrounding area fascinating to explore.

Take a ride through the winding roads around Wandong, Heathcote Junction and the Plenty Ranges, or head north towards Kilmore and the historic Victorian goldfields.

The town's railway history is also worth discovering. The North Eastern railway reached Wandong in 1872, connecting the district with Melbourne and helping drive further growth. The former railway route towards Heathcote later closed, but Wandong's connection with the rail network remains an important part of its story.

The surrounding forests and countryside provide plenty of opportunities for scenic rides, bushwalking and exploring the smaller communities that sit just beyond Melbourne's northern fringe.

Did You Know?

The name Wandong is believed to mean “ghosts” in the local Aboriginal language.

And here's another piece of pub history worth knowing: the Magpie & Stump Hotel stands on the same ground where the old Travellers Rest Hotel once stood. After the original pub was destroyed by fire in 1933, Wandong went more than six decades without a hotel before the Magpie & Stump finally opened in 1994.

That makes today's pub more than just another country hotel—it represents the return of a meeting place that had been missing from Wandong for generations.

So when you're riding north of Melbourne, take the time to leave the main road behind and discover Wandong. Explore the town's history, enjoy the surrounding country roads and pull into the Magpie & Stump Hotel for a great pub feed.

And before you continue your adventure, don't forget to collect your Great Aussie Pub Feed Passport stamp.

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