ONE of Nyngan's oldest buildings, the 140-year-old Nyngan Hotel, is being brought back to life as boutique accommodation by an entrepreneurial local couple who have discovered a hidden gem. 

Denuded of its of its original Victorian era façade and coated in white paint, this two storey building on the corner of Nymagee and Dandaloo streets in Nyngan, didn't look to be anything special but when James and Emily Stanton took a closer look they realised it was ripe with potential.

James is a local builder who employs a team of tradesmen and Emily manages a growing accommodation business which includes The Riverside Tourist Park on the outskirts of Nyngan and a recently completed art deco inspired conversion of a 1900's main street building into two apartments. 

It was the latter project – known as 87 Pangee Street - which gave Emily the renovating bug and when it was completed last year she went looking for a new challenge. 

She was drawn to Nymagee street, which was the original main street of Nyngan and has many unused buildings in various condition. 

The Nyngan Hotel has been used as a private residence since the late 1980's. The owner was a local shearing contractor who made use of the upstairs accommodation for his team, and also opened a café downstairs for a brief time in the 1990's.   

It sits on the busiest corner in town where the Mitchell Highway meets the central business district of Nyngan, and directly opposite the RSL Club and the Nyngan Railway Station Museum. 

ABOVE: The building as it was originally 

Having grown up in Nyngan Emily admits she has probably driven past the building "every week since I was born" but had ironically never really noticed it.   

"I’m too young to remember when the building was open and judging by the exterior I didn’t expect it to have much potential but I made some enquiries with the owners last year when I heard it may be for sale and they let me have a look through.” 

“When I walked inside it was incredible. It was like turning back time and walking into the 1900’s.” 

James, wearing his builder hat, took a bit more convincing but he could see the building was solid with its double brick walls, pressed metal ceilings, and original features. 

The two story building was built in 1883 when Nyngan – a town which grew around the construction of the western railway line – was in its infancy. It was originally known as the Commercial Hotel and early photographs show an impressive brick building wrapped in ornate double verandas. 

Records show these verandas were removed in the 1960’s and replaced with a tie rod awning, and the building painted white with a green roof. 

ABOVE: A photograph taken in 1931 before the verandahs were removed. 

For many years "The Nyngan Hotel", as it was renamed in 1944, was owned by brewers Tooth and Co and was a typical country pub with a downstairs bar area and upstairs accommodation serviced by communal bathrooms at the end of a hallway. 

James and Emily are going to keep the upstairs as accommodation but will convert the 15 rooms into 10, and add ensuite bathrooms. 

They are stripping back layers of paint and pub carpet to reveal the internal brickwork and fireplaces and highlighting the original pressed metal ceilings. 

The exterior will also be given a facelift. Unfortunately, as the building is not heritage listed it is not easily eligible for grant funding, but the existing awning will be transformed to include posts and a sympathetic top-line back to the building. 

“We are not going to be able to restore it back to exactly how it was as the cost would be exorbitant but we are sympathetically renovating it. We want to do this for the community too. It’s uplifting to see these old buildings given new life.” 

ABOVE: James and Emily Stanton with their sons Carter, Archie and Darby 

Emily is proud to be involved in a local project and the fact her three young boys Carter, Archie and Darby are the sixth generation of their family to walk through the front door.  

She expects stage one to be completed by the end of the year, and will manage it along with her existing accommodation business. Stage two, which includes the downstairs bar, cellar and other rooms will likely commence next year. 

“We haven’t really decided what that will look like. It would be fantastic to have a wine bar or restaurant in there but if that happened, we’d look to rent those spaces to other people to run. I’m in the accommodation business so that’s what we will focus on at first.” 

Emily said the Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park has been booked out in recent months. 

“The park is booked solid and we are constantly having to turn people away. There is huge demand from not only tourists but temporary workers for accommodation.” 

ABOVE: Original pressed metal ceilings remain.