STRADDIE PUB WILL ALWAYS HAVE THOSE MAGICAL MILLION DOLLAR VIEWS

North Stradbroke Island, affectionately known as Straddie to all us Queenslanders who escape to the island when the rat race of city life gets all too much, is known for its beautiful white sandy beaches, its solitude, its fishing (if you are lucky enough to own a boat) and probably more than anything else the famous Straddie pub at Pt. Lookout. 

For all my overseas readers, if I have any (laugh), the island is situated directly east of Brisbane across Moreton Bay.

The old Straddie pub, and I am not talking about the new fangle dangle one which come along a few years ago, I think qualifies as a lost cultural treasure in the state of Queensland because of its place in the iconic hearts of diehard Straddie lovers.

Of course the new pub has still got that million dollar view stretching out across the Pacific Ocean northwards towards Moreton Island and the endless blue horizon, but I guess it is fair to say there just isn`t the same charm about the pub nowadays with all its finer trimmings and fanciness. 

I will always remember the dude who use to work in the bottle shop back in the old days before the pub was modernised, he was
always sporting a three day growth and allow me to say it - he was a complete "pisshead". 

I think he was drunk everytime he was at work. A real grumpbag but you could get a smile out of him occasionally if you caught him in a good mood.

He was as famous as the pub he worked at actually, even if he was just a burnout zombie who was as friendly as a rattlesnake. 

To me, he was a part of the old famous pub, just like the old wooden pool table and all the wooden tables outside the pub overlooking the ocean.

Time doesn`t stand still, and inevitably progress happens and the Straddie pub had to be re-fitted at some stage to keep up with the booming tourist trade on the island.

These days you can stay in at least 4-star luxury at the pub in new state of the art apartments, I cant say I have stayed in one but apparently they are nice but extremely expensive for what you get. 

One thing that cant be denied is that the view from the units at the Straddie pub would have to be spectacular, seeing that they`re situated higher than the pub itself below. 

It`s become a place where elitists and booze hounds can hang out together and not feel entirely out of place.