Captains Flat Hotel owner Sharanne Witt is one of many who treasure its historical features. Photo: Sally Hopman.
Captains Flat is a long way from Hollywood, but there are some things there that they just don’t have over in Tinseltown.
One is the ”authentic” Captains Flat Hotel, which was built around 1937 and retains many period features, such as vintage appliances.
Owner Sharanne Witt told Region it was these historical elements that brought a major film production to the small NSW town.
“The reason they chose this hotel was because it was the most authentic 1940s hotel in original condition that they could find,” she said.
“The hotel itself has not had a lot of changes. It’s not been modernised in any way.”
The TV adaptation, based on Australian author Richard Flanagan’s novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North, was released in April on Amazon Prime Video.
In the miniseries, an Australian doctor and World War II veteran is haunted by memories of his time as a Far East prisoner of war during the construction of the Burma Railway and an affair with his uncle’s wife.
But before it could be featured in its Hollywood debut, the hotel had to be given a makeover.
“Carpet had been taken off the stairs, light fittings had been changed back to original light fittings,” Sharanne said.
“The televisions obviously had to be taken out … A lot of things like that had to be done during the filming.”
Once it was transformed, it housed Hollywood stars and locals as extras for several weeks in late 2023.
“I’m positive [that in] every episode there’s a section with the pub in it. That’s a lot of footage of the pub,” Sharanne said.
While Sharanne now looks after the pub, she wasn’t its owner during filming.
At the time, she was living about 20 minutes away, but would regularly drive through the town.
“I wish I’d been there at the time, because I would have put up my hand to be in it, as well! It would have been great,” she said.
“There were always tents and caravans [that she saw] … No one ever said anything, it was really secret.”
Sharanne says its inclusion in Hollywood history has added another chapter to the historic hotel’s story, which is a symbol of the town.
“If we’ve still got our pub, we’ve still got our sense of identity,” she said.
“It’s quite an iconic little place, and it just means the world. It’s just such a big spirit.”
After purchasing the hotel a year ago, Sharanne says keeping its historic features is still front and centre.
“I didn’t have any intentions of turning it into a bistro or taking out the bar and putting in poker machines,” she said.
“I loved it for how it was and I wanted to leave it how it was … that always was my dream, and it was their dream [the previous owners].”
Captains Flat Hotel is located at 51 Foxlow St, Captains Flat. Keep up to date with the pub via its website, as well as its Facebook and Instagram pages.
