The former Hillwood family took over the reins from Jan and Walter Milner on Sunday and have already set about settling into their new lives managing one of the Northern Midlands’ most popular pubs.  

Former retirement village manager Kellie, who will take on management responsibilities with husband Wayne and children Ryan and Piper, said she was looking forward to the change in lifestyle. 

“It'll be great living up here, it's so nice and quiet it's lovely, it’s very different to working in Launceston,” Mrs Murfet said.

“We kept coming down here on Sunday drives and we'd always end up here - we'd start off in one direction and end up at Lake Leake.

“We just got talking to Jan and Walter one day and it sort of snowballed from there.”

The building was originally built for dam workers in the 1920s and has since become a popular stop-off for local shack owners and those driving the Lake Leake Highway.

Mrs Murfet, who has also spent time working in a petrol station, said she was looking forward to getting back into customer service and building up relationships with the inn’s clientele.

“We really like the atmosphere here - when you first drive in it really hits you and you think ‘oh yeah this is lovely’, it's like something out of a Swiss village.

“There's 120 shacks down here and there's a lot of shack owners that come and go and this is the meeting point.

“They call in and check up on things and they come up after they've been working on their shacks or fishing and they'll relax and have a feed, it’s really good.”

Mrs Murfet promised regulars that despite the change of hands, the inn would keep producing what it has become known for – big meals, devonshire teas and affordable accommodation. 

“They're big shoes to fill, Jan and Walter have got a really good thing going.

“We don’t want to change anything just yet - if it’s not broke you don’t fix it and the way they're doing it is really good.”