What happens when you put a Pom in the Aussie Outback?

March 11, 2010 04:19 by Roxy ::

Steve Early, a 24 year-old from South Yorkshire in England, came to Beaches Travel in Brisbane seeking a job.

We got him one. Here's his story:

My name is Steve Earley, I am 24 years old and from South Yorkshire in England. I have been in Australia for 10 months now, and spent 9 of those months in Queensland’s Outback.

I came as a backpacker to work at an Outback Hotel in Queensland’s Outback. I worked behind the bar for a few months before being rewarded with a promotion to duty manager, and an opportunity to stay in Australia for good! I am now being sponsored by the company to stay and partake in a fantastic career in the field I studied at university.

When I first heard about the job here, I thought it would be some dingy hotel in the middle of a dirt road town.

I had dreamed of living it up in some classy bar in Brisbane and partying every night I had off.

The only reason I originally came to Queensland’s Outback was due to me running out of money thanks to some heavy socialising in Sydney and Brisbane.

However Queensland’s Outback Hotels couldn’t be any further from a dingy hotel in the middle of nowhere.

Queensland’s Outback is a city in the middle of the outback, and is the REAL Australia. It has all the amenities you need including cinema, public swimming pool, nightclub and bars and restaurants.

The weather here is unbelievable too! It is of 30 degrees plus every single day!!

Queensland’s Outback is a fantastic town full of very friendly people, a lot friendlier than you’ll find on the coast!

The social life here is one of the biggest factors of me choosing to stay.

With us recruiting so many backpackers, we all socialise outside of work. The vast majority of the backpackers all stay at the backpacker hostel and spend their days and nights off together. Also every Wednesday night the whole work force all goes out and has a big night at the karaoke night.

The hostels in Queensland’s Outback aren’t the greatest hostels in the world. It is overpriced and is not to the standard of hostel you will find in the big cities. However, there are always rooms going spare for rent in houses across town.

I was lucky enough to find a room that a local miner was looking to fill, and I now live in a nice two-storey, four bedroom house with a large pool.

It is the ultimate party house!! Many a pool party has been had there! Including a Playboy pool party (with strippers)!! This did lead to my former room-mates being kicked out, but was definitely worth it!! 

Some people question my decision to stay in Queensland’s Outback when it is so far from the coast. My reply to those people is that I get to meet so many new people who come to work in the outback, people from all over the world, and I get to drink as much goon with them as I want! Then once they move on, another fresh batch of new people with more stories to tell show up.

Plus due to my sponsorship I never have to go back to England again!!

The hotel here is a fantastic set-up for a city in the middle of the outback.

We are by far the best hotel/bar and restaurant in town!

We are busy every Friday and Saturday night with both the food and drink patrons, and maintain this level of custom every night of the week. We are open from 6.30am right through until 11pm most nights, and through to 3am on weekends. So there are always plenty of hours to be had.

The rate of pay here is also a great reason to work here. The hourly rate is $19+ through the week, rising to $23 + on a weekend. That is significantly more than any bar will pay its employees in the UK!!

 We have a very good team of management and staff here. We are well known to hire a lot of backpackers, and that brings together people from all over the world and that is liked a lot by our customers. I have had to tell my life story to so many patrons due to them loving the fact I’m not only an out-of-towner, but come from a country they have never even come close to visiting.

The reason I am writing this blog is to give an idea to backpackers what to expect if they were to come out to the outback.  I wish I had been able to know more before embarking on the 26 hour coach journey deep into the outback. But now that I am here, I have had the time of my life here and don’t regret a single thing!  

So if you are looking to work in a friendly bar/restaurant, earn some serious cash, and have some fun in the sun while you do so, then come over to Queensland’s Outback!!

Do you need a Job? Come and see us either at Beaches Backpackers or Beaches Travel - located in Airlie Beach, Brisbane, Hervey Bay and Kings Cross. Or call Kat on (07) 3008 7111.