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A pub for the people in Miles: a town beyond the boom
Few have ridden the highs and lows of a resources boom with the grace and humility exuded by refugee turned millionaire entrepreneur Son Ngo.
In the coal-seam gas heartland of Miles, about 300kms northwest of Brisbane, the colourful Queensland businessman is doing what no other savvy investor would dare — he’s pouring big dollars into a historic pub that has not enjoyed a decent trade since Australia’s Pacific LNG Project wound up construction and took its orange army of workers with it.
On any given weekend, Mr Ngo can be found helping labourers restore Hotel Australia and while he may be sporting designer jeans and leather shoes, the much-loved member of Miles’s first Vietnamese family has never forgotten arriving in his adopted country at age 10 with only the clothes on his back.
His mother, having lost her husband in the Vietnam War, had gathered the courage to pile her family into a rickety boat in search of a better life. They found it in Australia.
Fast forward a decade and it was a town of few more than 1000 people, in the harsh Queensland outback, that gave Mr Ngo his first taste of running a business.
A relative had bought the local supermarket and if Mr Ngo was prepared to work hard enough, it was his.
Long days spent working the cash register paid off and eventually Mr Ngo was not only owner of a small supermarket but also, much of main street. When it was time to raise a family, Mr Ngo relocated to Brisbane, where he built an investment portfolio of supermarkets, fast food outlets and property.
When the Surat Basin gas pipe dream ended almost overnight last February, leaving local subcontractors without work and whole streets of empty houses, he decided it was time to give back to Miles and return to the town.
When he arrived, nostalgia was mixed with pangs of guilt.
He’s the first to admit that during the peak construction time in 2013, the pub had cashed in on the boom, charging $40 plus for a steak.
“When we came back, my wife and I looked at the menu, then we looked at each other and just said ‘No one is going to be able to afford this’,” Mr Ngo said
“We knew things had to change and the first thing was that the pub had to be for the people of Miles.”
Slowly, the stories of Miles — beauty pageants, country women’s association meetings and more — are being told through picture murals that Mr Ngo is having canvassed around the hotel walls.
The community is responding.
A walk down the main street sees political correctness abandoned as greetings almost always make reference to his Asian heritage but carry with them great respect and affection.
Mr Ngo knows the hotel is almost guaranteed not to return a profit but hopes it will not only restore hope to the community but also attract tourists looking to connect with the Australia of yesteryear.
“I am forever grateful for what this town and this country has given me,” Mr Ngo said.
Source: The Australian, Jessica Grewal, 25th August 2015
Originally published as: A pub for the people in Miles: a town beyond the boom
