Outback Middleton Hotel gets new lease on life as ...

A changing of the guard at the famous Middleton Hotel has seen a population boom in the remote Queensland outpost, from two to four. 

Key points: The son of two beloved publicans takes up the reins of one of the most remote pubs in QueenslandThis year has been the busiest season in the past 16 years'Free beer' was enough of an incentive to go from chopper mustering to pouring drinks

When age and health became too much for beloved publicans Lester and Val Cain, the future of the pub was thrown into doubt.

That was until their son, Stoney Cain, and his young family swooped in behind the bar to keep the drinks flowing in the one-horse town, 1,600 kilometres from Brisbane.

"We walked straight into it, to being flat out and not able to scratch ourselves," Stoney said.

From pushing steers to pulling beers

Stoney Cain had been a mostly uninvolved part-owner of the pub since it was bought in 2005.

But one thing convinced him to give up his life of mustering cattle, earthmoving, mining opals and flying choppers to take on the old pub in the "middle of nowhere".

"The idea of free beer!" chimed in his fiancée Clara Fisher.

The Middleton Hotel sits in solitude 170km west of Winton, and 193km east of Boulia.(

ABC Western Qld: Craig Fitzsimmons

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It may have a population you can count on one hand, but Middleton is enjoying a bustling tourist season and the couple knows they've got their work cut out juggling the pub, cattle properties, and homeschooling their sons Jackson and Oscar.

"It's the busiest season I've seen in 16 years here," Stoney said.

"It was really testing for our relationship as well."

It's uncharted territory for Clara, who runs cattle on Glen Kyree Station, south of Winton.

"Before coming here, I think the last time I walked into a pub was probably 15 years ago, so coming in and helping manage it was a bit of a learning curve for me," she said.

"I've traded cows for tourists.

"But it's actually been really good; it's been a lot more fun than I expected."

Stoney Cain and Clara Fisher have been told that coming to the Middleton Hotel is a cross between going to a pub and going to your mate's house for dinner.(

Supplied: Stoney Cain

) Pioneering spirit lives on

Longreach local Ben Galea met the new management on a reconnaissance trip for a forthcoming cross-country flight.

"Here's this pub in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by vast Mitchell grass plains," Ben said.

Pilot Shane Johnston and passenger Ben Galea shared a spectacular sight, flying low over the remote Middleton Hotel.(

Supplied: Ben Galea

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"When we came around to land, we just went straight over the pub, almost knocked the roof off it, touched down, taxied up to the front of the pub, and got to meet the new owners."

As he joined tourists inside for a toasted sandwich and a soft drink, Ben could feel the history and spirit of the old 1800s Cobb & Co changing station living on through its new caretakers.

Tourists were surprised to see a Jabiru plane pull up in front of the Middleton Hotel, and lined up outside to see it take off.(

Supplied: Ben Galea

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"It was a little hub, just like how it was founded for a Cobb & Co stop," he said.

"That's how it functions today, as a valuable stop along that route from Winton to Boulia.

"It just offers that quintessential experience, it speaks for itself that pub, it's an icon.

"It's a touch of the western Queensland lifestyle really, for tourists who pull up there to see this couple running a pub and running cattle."

The Middleton Hotel started off as a Cobb & Co changing station in the 1800s.(

ABC Western Qld: Craig Fitzsimmons

) Find more local news Middleton, not middle of nowhere

It may be almost 170 kilometres from the nearest town, but Middleton has been the centre of Lester Cain's world for the past 16 years.

"It's a fair distance from somewhere. The word 'nowhere', I really don't like that," Lester said.

"Everywhere is somewhere, and it is a long way from other towns, but a lot of Australia is like that."

Tourists would often tell Lester that Middleton was the highlight of their outback adventure, due in no small part to his smile and wit.(

ABC Western Qld: Craig Fitzsimmons

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Lester and his wife, Val, can't help but crack a smile reminiscing on highway robberies, "bullshitting" to the tourists, and dancing in the middle of the road with no-one else around.

But Lester's heart troubles and a mini-stroke earlier this year fast-tracked their move 350 kilometres down the road to Longreach.

Remote, but remarkable; several movies have been shot in the area's spectacular surrounds.(

ABC Rural: Melanie Groves

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For this old cocky, going from a local population of two to 3,000 has taken some getting used to.

"I keep to myself pretty much here in town," Lester said.

"I've never really lived in a town in my life really, I've always lived in the bush, and I find towns a little bit different."

The more things change, the more they stay the same and Stoney will see to it that his parents' legacy is as synonymous with Middleton as Cobb & Co.

"Dad always says, 'Good manners will cost you nothing, and take you a long way'," Stoney said.

"I apply this philosophy every day at the pub along with my own which is, 'If you can make one person laugh every day, you make the world a better place'."

The Middleton memorial cairn lists the names of the explorers who passed through the area in 1862 in search of the lost expedition of Burke and Wills.(

Supplied: Jiayuan Liang and Xplorer Studio

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