The leafy little location of Longley is just 20 minutes southwest of downtown Hobart, but it feels like a world away from the capital’s frenzied streets.
At the heart of the village is the legendary Longley International Hotel. This imposing red brick block, built in 1936, rises from the Tasmanian wilderness and is the perfect place to find heart meals and thirst-quenching drinks. But before heading inside, check out the five-metre-long Big Axe that stands by the front door. Photos with it are always chop-ular!
A scaled-up replica of a competition axe, this big beauty was originally located at Clennett’s Mitre 10 in nearby Kingston – alongside The Big Garden Fork – and was later moved to Longley, where the State Woodchopping Carnival is held each February.
Whilst there are several other mega-sized axes around Australia, the Longley leviathan stands out by being wedged in a gorgeous chunk of Huon Pine.
To the side of the pub is a sprawling beer garden populated by a motley crew of bearded tradies, tipsy grey nomads and excitable Bigthusiasts – a diverse bunch bonding in the shadows of the Axe.
It’s the perfect place to spend a sunny Tassie afternoon downing icy-cold pints of Cascade lager and shaking your groove thang to world-famous rock acts who drop by on a fairly regular basis.
The Screaming Jets, Daryl Braithwaite, Rose Tattoo and Casey Donovan are just some of the axe – oops, I mean acts! – who have performed in Longley.
Unlike The Big Axe, they’re certainly not hacks!
It’s a Longley way to the chop, if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll!
The Big Axe brings in tourists by the truckload, but someone else was causing a stir when the Bardot Bunch turned up at the Longley Hotel: hard rocker Shannon Noll. This legend of Aussie music was preparing to perform for his adoring fans.
“He’ll probably sing What About Me,” Bigella squealed dreamily.
I slowly swilled the final drops of Cascade Zero (topped off with a generous lashing of lemon squash) around in my mouth.
“That should’ve been my song,” I mumbled.
Sadly, “Nollsy” and I have barely spoken since our very public falling-out during the filming of Australian Idol back in 2001, so I had no intention of staying for the show.
As the family piled into the Bigsmobile for the ride back to Hobart, I paused to watch the dying embers of the sunset shimmer on The Big Axe’s razor-sharp blade. That’s when I noticed Nollsy standing in the shadows of the hotel, doing the same thing. He just gave me a knowing nod, a kind smile, then disappeared into the bowels of the pub to prepare for his performance.
Our friendship may have been torn apart by the relentless pressures of reality TV but in that moment, in the cloying Tasmanian twilight, our shared love of Big Things brought the two of us back together.
“Everything alright?” Bigella asked as i stepped in the car.
“Yeah,” I sighed, looking wistfully back at The Big Axe. “I guess Nollsy and I just buried the hatchet – teehee!”
