These are the most historic pubs in Australia - but there's debate over which is the oldest
There's no doubt about it - Australia is home to some old pubs with rich and colourful histories.
But what is up for debate, is which pub is the country's oldest.
We have plenty of venues which opened their doors back in the 1800s, however there's a handful which lay claim to the official title.
Photographer and author Gavin John dove into the murky waters of finding Australia's oldest pubs for his photography book, Australia's Historic Pubs.
John tells 9news.com.au he ran into some roadblocks while trying to figure out which establishment was the oldest continously-licensed pub Down Under.
"There is a lot of contention to which is the oldest pub," he said.
Read on to see photos of the 20 oldest venues in Australia.
Bush Inn, New Norfolk, Tasmania
Bush Inn, in New Norfolk, Tasmania opened in 1815 and was officially licensed in 1825.
It's never closed, so officially lays claim to the title on its sign, which reads: "Australia's oldest continously licensed hotel".
Bush Inn has been locked in a cheeky war with a Hobart pub, the Hope and Anchor, over which is the oldest in Australia.
You can read more about it here.
The Georgian-style pub once operated as a pub to serve convicts who had been transferred from the Norfolk Islands penal settlement.
"What is not disputed is that the first trunk telephone call in Australia was made between the Hobart Post Office and the Bush Inn in 1888," John wrote in Australia's Historic Pubs.
"The hotel's telephone number was "New Norfolk 1", which it held until the exchange was automated in the 1970s.
"The first call from Australia to London was also made from the hotel on the first of February 1939."
Hope and Anchor, Hobart, Tasmania
Over in Hobart, the folks at Hope and Anchor also describe themselves as the oldest hotel establishment in Australia.
The pub first opened in 1807 and while it closed for a brief period in the 1980s, manager Tom Bawle claims the licence never expired.
"Initially named The Whale Fishery when opened by Thomas Hopkins in 1807, the hotel has also born the names; the Hope; the Anchor and Hope; and the Alexandra Hotel in honour of King Edward VII's wife," John wrote in his book.
"Notorious convict Isaac "Ikey" Solomon, a renowned thief who may have inspired the character of Fagin in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, was reported to frequent Hope and Anchor in the late 1820s."
A newspaper clipping from the Tasmanian Hotel Review in 1975 describes Hope and Anchor as "by far the oldest not only in Tasmania but Australia, and there is little doubt about the continuity of the licence, which has run for 168 years".
Castle Hotel, Bothwell, Tasmania
Castle Hotel in Bothwell, Tasmania hasn't joined its fellow historic pubs in the battle for the title of Australia's oldest pub.
However, it does have a rich history of its own.
Opened in 1829, Castle Hotel was constructed for the small fee of 1000 pounds nearly 200 years ago.
Two centuries on, the pub is still pulling pints for loyal patrons.
It's now run by publican Dennis Bell, a Sydney banker who fell in love with the pub while on a motorbike tour through Tasmania, John said.
Macquarie Arms Hotel, Windsor, NSW
Macquarie Arms Hotel in the famously historic suburb of Windsor, NSW opened its doors back in 1815.
"The hotel was built by a convict by the name of Richard Fitzgerald who had arrived in 1791 to serve out a seven year sentence," John wrote in his book.
The Macquarie Arms Hotel is described as "Australia's oldest pub on the mainland".
Although inside, an inscription on the bar reads "Oldest hotel in Australia".
The hotel is listed in the NSW Heritage register as "of exceptional significance as the most sophisticated and most intact major commercial building dating to the pre-1820 colonial period of Australia's history", John notes.
The Fortune of War, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW
The Fortune of War, nestled in the historic tourist neighbourhood of The Rocks in Sydney, is the city's oldest continously-licensed hotel.
It began as a house and shop but became the pub it is known as today in 1828.
"It was transformed into the Fortune of War in 1828 for Samuel Terry, a former convict turned successful entrepreneur, earning him the nickname 'Botany Bay Rothschild' for his shrewd business acumen," John wrote.
"Terry, arrived in Australia in 1800 having been sentenced to 7 years following the theft of 400 stockings. He transitioned to innkeeping upon completing his sentence, securing a scarce liquor license in 1810."
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