Outback publication Steve Baldwin is shedding light on Larrimah’s WWII efforts with plans to renovate the Pink Panther Hotel dining room underway.
Steve, who also owns Outback Caravan Park Tennant Creek, spearheaded the changes after purchasing the iconic the Larrimah Wayside Inn and caravan park, known as Pink Panther Hotel.
LARRRIMAH’S WWII PAST
With Darwin under siege, Larrimah served as a vital rail-road link for the Australian and U.S. Defense Forces.
More than 2000 soldiers from Alice Springs boarded the North Australia Railway (NAR) at Larrimah for Darwin, with U.S. Forces basing their North Australian Head Quarters at the hotel at its original location.
Today, travellers can inspect a local museum, the disused siding as well as relics from barracks that housed more than 600 defense personnel during the war years.
CONTINUING THE PINK PANTHER TRADITION
In addition to the renovations, the Pink Panther Hotel will offer evening entertainment under the care of new onsite managers Therese and Craig.
The hotel’s eclectic art collection and crocodile feeding program remain, with packaged deals available Pink Panther Hotel and Outback Caravan Park Tennant Creek patrons.
The Larrimah Pink Panther Hotel was established in 1930s at Birdum, 8km away. Relocated in the 1850s, it earned its nickname in 1960s when the-then publican planted a pink panther by a ‘seasonal’ puddle-cum-Larrimah Lake.
Visit larrimahwaysideinn.wordpress.com and www.outbacktennantcreek.com.au for more.