Two centuries of New Norfolk drinking, eating, phoning and broadcasting, all under one roof.
The pub takes its name from D.W. Bush, clerk to the Reverend Robert "Bobby" Knopwood, the colony's first chaplain. It has changed hands plenty of times since, but the doors have stayed open.
- 1815
The building goes up
A two-storey brick house is built on Montagu Street in what was then a young river settlement.
- 1825
Ann Bridger gets the licence
A widow and former Norfolk Islander, Ann Bridger is licensed to sell spirits, wine and beer "at the sign of the Bush". She's the first of a long line of publicans.
- 1830s
Pub by day, chapel on Sunday
Until a church was built nearby, the Bush doubled as a place of worship. Some of that memorabilia is still on display.
- 1888
Australia's first trunk-line call
On 1 December, the Hobart Post Office rang the Bush. Proprietor Captain Octavius Blockley picked up. The pub's number, "New Norfolk 1", stuck until the 1970s.
- 1932
Opera on the wireless
On 29 June the opera Maritana was performed and broadcast live from the Bush over the national network via 7ZL Hobart.
- 1939
A call to London
On 1 February, the first phone call from New Norfolk to London was made from the pub.
- 2025
Two hundred years
The Bush celebrated 200 years of trading with live music, food and a few drinks.
- Now
Rooms again
The new accommodation wing opens, so the oldest pub in Australia is once again a place to stay the night.
History drawn from the Derwent Valley Gazette (Oct 2025), the University of Tasmania's Companion to Tasmanian History, and newspaper records.