{{Infobox building | name = Wobbly Boot Hotel | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = Boggabilla Wobbly Boot Hotel-1 (5141990589).jpg | image_size = 270 | image_alt = <!-- or | alt = --> | image_caption = <!-- or | caption = --> | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | etymology = | status = Complete | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = Australian pub | architectural_style = | classification = | location = | address = 92 Merriwa Street, Boggabilla, New South Wales | location_city = <!-- or | location_town = --> | location_country = Australia | coordinates = {{coord|-28.60555556|150.36027778|type:landmark_region:AU-NSW|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | altitude = | current_tenants = | namesake = | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = | construction_stop_date = | est_completion = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = | opened_date = {{start date|1935}} | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | landlord = | affiliation = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = | size = | floor_count = 2 | floor_area = | elevator_count = | grounds_area = | architect = | architecture_firm = | developer = | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | number_of_rooms = | parking = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | embed = | embedded = | references = | footnotes = }}
The '''Wobbly Boot Hotel''' is an Australian pub located in the town of Boggabilla near the state border of New South Wales and Queensland. The current concrete building was constructed in 1935 to replace a 12-room wooden hotel on the same site that was destroyed by fire in 1934,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/183585546?searchTerm=Boggabilla%20Hotel%20fire |title=HOTEL FIRE: Building and Contents Destroyed|newspaper=Glen Innes Examiner|location=Glen Innes, NSW |date=23 August 1934 |access-date=27 May 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> leaving the railhead town without visitor accommodation. The new hotel was designed with modern amenities (including electric lighting throughout, large balconies and a septic tank system) to help take advantage of the business opportunities brought by the recently opened Boggabilla railway line.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/184676043?searchTerm=Boggabilla%20Hotel%20new |title=BOGGABILLA'S NEW HOTEL|newspaper=The Inverell Times|location=Inverell, NSW |date=12 June 1935 |access-date=27 May 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Originally known as the Boggabilla Hotel, the name was changed to the Wobbly Boot, an Australian slang term used to describe the sensation of being drunk and unable to walk straight, during the tenure of publican Glen Bryan in the early 1980s.<ref name=Bulletin>{{cite magazine |last=Saw|first=Ron|date=12 January 1982|title=People|magazine=The Bulletin|location=Sydney|publisher=Australian Consolidated Press|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1310057723/view?sectionId=nla.obj-1600679218&searchTerm=Wobbly+Boot+Hotel&partId=nla.obj-1310063123#page/n34/mode/1up/search/Wobbly+Boot+Hotel |access-date=27 May 2023|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1989, the Wobbly Boot Hotel was damaged after a fight outside the pub sparked a riot amid racial tensions related to the living conditions of Indigenous Australians at nearby Toomelah Station. Additional police were called from the towns of Moree and Goondiwindi and 11 people were charged.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122256894?searchTerm=Wobbly%2BBoot%2BHotel%20%20Boggabilla |title=Weekend riot in border town|newspaper=The Canberra Times |location=Canberra, ACT |date=24 April 1989 |access-date=27 May 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The Wobbly Boot has featured regularly in Australian media and travel blogs on lists of strange and iconic Australian pubs owing to its unusual name and notoriety as the inspiration for the Stan Coster song ''The Wobbly Boot Hotel''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/15-whackiest-country-pubs-you-have-to-visit/news-story/1427e18452a1c28d6602e3afa9beb3da|title=15 wackiest country pubs you have to visit|author=Samantha Townsend|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=21 April 2016|accessdate=27 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caravancampingnsw.com/unusual-pubs-in-nsw/|title=Unusual Pubs in NSW|publisher=Caravan and Camping Industry Association of NSW|date=6 December 2017|accessdate=27 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/weird-and-wonderful-pubs-around-australia/news-story/308c8632757e11f298f5377e4e60dab3|title=Weird and wonderful pubs around Australia|author=Louise Acret|website=news.com.au|date=28 February 2014|accessdate=27 May 2023}}</ref>
==In popular culture== *Country music artist Stan Coster wrote the 1982 song ''The Wobbly Boot Hotel'' about the pub while sitting at the bar at the request of publican Glen Bryan, who reportedly paid him $1000.<ref name=Bulletin /> The song has since been performed and re-released by artists including Slim Dusty and John Williamson.<ref name=Domain>{{cite web|url=https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/wobbly-boot-hotel-for-sale-famous-pub-could-be-yours-for-a-song-8431/|title=Wobbly Boot Hotel for sale: Famous pub could be yours for a song|author=Rebecca Holland|publisher=Domain Media|date=16 April 2019|accessdate=27 May 2023}}</ref>
*Walker Models produce 1/160 (N scale) and 1/87 (HO scale) model kits of the Wobbly Boot Hotel for use with model railways.<ref name=Domain /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.walkermodels.com/?s=Wobbly+Boot|website=Walker Models|title=Wobbly Boot Pub|accessdate=27 May 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Hotels in New South Wales Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1935 Category:1935 establishments in Australia Category:Commercial buildings in New South Wales Category:Pubs in New South Wales Category:Moree Plains Shire