A hidden gem in the outback of Australia with a legendary past

Not all roads lead to Krakow. In fact, it takes careful preparation to reach this town in the heart of the inland.

Halfway through there, the GPS signal disappeared. And, since there are no gas stations along the route, you need to bring in enough fuel supplies if you don’t want to get stuck.

But Krakow rewards travelers’ efforts. After a long and pothole-filled journey, you finally see a town that, although unlike the famous Polish city of Kraków, has its own clever charm, albeit hard.

The town’s connection to Poland is not yet clear.

Some say that the founder of the first settlement in the region had a Polish wife and was moved by his fellow countrymen’s struggle for freedom in the 19th century.

But others think the name comes from the rustling of dry branches (or crack), rich in this harsh climate.

Either way, there is no doubt that this place has long attracted people with the spirit of an explorer, rather than the desire for ordinary life.

Cracow was one of the last towns to emerge during the 1930s Gold Rush. To the peak, its population is busy with about 10,000 people, and nearly 20,000 kilograms of gold are mined locally.

Eventually, its good fortune was over – the gold mine was closed and Krakow became a ghost town.

The population dropped to around 50, and its center was filled with rusty buildings that no longer reminded of the vitality of its past.

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However, in these shabby areas, the Cracow Hotel and Pub run by Stuart and Nikki Burke and their two children Brophy and Chilli stand out.

Although the local gold mines resumed operations after years of desolation, the town is far from restoration.

EuroNews heads to Cracow to find out how an ubiquitous bar works and tells the story of people who decide to breathe life into this forgotten place.

Adventurer’s magnet

Krakow bar and hotel owner Stuart Burke is one of the rare free spirits willing to choose the Australian wilderness as his home.

Stuart was part of a tent boxer when he was young and participated in a battle nicknamed “Kid Goanna.” He and other combatants travel from town to town, providing a rare moment of entertainment for hard-working farmers and miners in the Australian outback.

The Cracow Hotel has mastered another boxer before – for years it was owned by legendary boxer Fred Brophy, an icon in the Australian tent boxing world.

Stuart Burke first came to town, and the Cracow Pub was where he met his future wife, Nikki.

When Brophy announced that he was selling the property, Burks decided immediately to buy it – to ensure Cracow’s story continues.

“Twenty-three years later, we’re married, have two children and run the bar we meet,” Stewart said.

But life in the Australian wilderness is far from perfect. Packages cannot be sent to Cracow, while the nearest shop is a 3.5-hour drive away. Burks does everything they can, but at the peak of the tourist season they have to travel once a week.

But Stewart didn’t complain: “Until 10 years ago, we didn’t even have a road.”

Despite the obvious challenges of living in Cracow, families cannot imagine living anywhere else. They agreed that Krakow was their home and running a bar was their way of life. As Nikki recalls, the bar has also shown “the ability to survive” since its inception in 1938, even in its worst periods.

“You have to get lost” to reach Krakow

Stewart stressed that there are two ways to reach Krakow. “Either it has to be very detailed to find us or it’s very, very lost!”

The spiritual atmosphere and reputation of the last town in the Gold Rush era attracted a specific type of visitors.

“We were visited by all types, especially homeless people, travelers and even rock stars,” he said. The walls and ceilings of the bar have signatures of visitors from top to bottom, and are the archives of everyone who managed to reach this remote area.

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But Krakow values ​​loyalty: Permanent residents of the area visit the bar regularly and staff will know their orders in their hearts. This is a place to exchange good news, eavesdrop on local gossip and complain about the weather.

The owners of the bar are particularly proud that despite not having poker machines, they have managed to attract customers, so-called “pokies” that have flourished in the Australian outback.

Gambling addiction is one of the country’s leading public health challenges. Australians lose more than $25 billion (€13.9 billion) annually in legal gamblingmaking them the world’s “leaders” of per capita losses.

Cracow Pub attempts to establish local identities at other events to resist these trends.

The owners recently participated in organizing the rally of Mrs. Krako – both descendants of former miners and those who contact the town.

Residents also recognize the role played by reopening mines. Although it has not contributed to significant population growth, it is maintaining local communities.

The Kkoko people stubbornly refused to let their town disappear from the map.

Is it haunted?

In recent years, the town has gained another face in horror movies, one directly.

The film crew has moved into an abandoned hospital in Cracow, the town has grown to make independent horror movies in Mecca.

Kadey Platt, a special effects creator and makeup artist who worked as a bartender at Cracow Pub a little later, explained that although she eventually came into town by chance, she has lived there for two years now.

“I’m a city girl. I’ve never thought I was in a place like this,” she said.

Platt and her team are looking for a location for a horror movie about zombie kangaroos. The strangeness of the Krakow bar seemed ideal, and she later decided to move on.

She and the crew bought an abandoned hospital nearby and turned it into their command center. As she recalls, “the quiet provided by Cracow is good for creativity. There is no distraction, instead you can find a kangaroo mom to relax in the threshold”.

Platt stressed that the contrast between the quiet town and the lively bar would never surprise her. “These walls are full of history,” she said.

Small town ghost

Cracow’s spirit is particularly cared for by Brophy, the 20-year-old son of the bar owner, whose parents are named after the legendary boxer.

Brophy and his mom studied the unmarked grave in Krakow. Thanks to their efforts, they were able to restore the cemetery and commemorate the miners and locals buried there, whose names are no longer remembered.

As he pointed out, although no one has found gold alone in Krakow for years, the ground here hides other stories.

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Brophy is interested in the fate of the indigenous people in the region – their culture, customs and miserable fate. He explores the traces of the massacre caused by the Aboriginal peoples who were seeking gold by white settlers. “This is a chapter,” he said.

Just like we were leaving Krakow, a car drove up in front of the bar.

One of the locals came to Brofee with a box filled with old newspaper cuttings and found in the attic in Krakow. “I have some new stories for you,” he said.

So we see with our own eyes how a bar in the Australian wilderness became a custodian of the town and its complex history.

“That’s how Krakow is,” Stewart said. “It may not be on the road, but you can’t stop going back to it!”