I have;

Been involved in the NT hospitality industry for over 40 years

Held a NT Liquor License for 37 years.

Gained my first Liquor License in 1982 for the Wave Hill Cricket Club, known as Franks Bar and Grill.

Held the Liquor License for the Katherine Country Club for over 25 years.

I have not been breached on any charges from the Licensing Commission or Police during this period.

A Diploma in Hospitality.

I am currently.

Vice President of the Australian Hotels Association NT

Vice President of Clubs NT

A member of the Chief Ministers Alcohol Review Implementation committee.

Chairman of the Katherine Liquor Accord.

Member of The Club Managers Association of Australia.

I have been.

A Board Member of the National Clubs Australia.

President of Clubs NT.

Deputy Chair Katherine Chamber of Commerce.

Committee member of

Katherine Region Action Group.

Katherine Safety Committee.

Katherine Alcohol Reference Group.

Katherine Alcohol Management Plan.

Alcohol Supply Plan for Katherine.

Frank Dalton, the Legendary Wave Hill Publican

Hard to imagine there was a famous bar at Wave Hill. It wasn't always legitimate either. Back in

1980 a die-hard Collingwood supporter escaped from Melbourne and somehow ended up in Wave

Hill. It was hot and dry and no place to wet the whistle. Frank Dalton created one and it

affectionately became known as Frank’s Bar & Grill.

Frank Dalton’s working life began as a pie boy at the footy in the stands of the MCG (Melbourne

Cricket Ground). Bay 13 was a pretty wild place in the 1960’s and Frank recalls he and few of his

mates were the only kids game enough to go in there and make some dollars. It was a good

training ground for what would later become his passion in life.

When Frank’s schooling was done he scored a job at Prince Henry’s Hospital as a chef. He trained

at the Sir William Angliss Catering College. He even took out the Apprentice of the Year Award. ! !

As far back as he could remember, Frank had a hankering for the bush. City life wasn't really his

calling. In 1975 BHP was seeking chefs for their mining operation on Groote Eylandt. BHP signed

Frank practically the moment his apprenticeship finished. He was 19 and the move from the big

smoke started Frank’s 40 year love affair with the NT.

However it wasn't an easy start. Groote Eylandt was primitive. His work environment was a

sweltering tin shed with only a pedestal fan. No TV, no phones and no idea what was happening in

the outside world. He stuck it out. There was no fly in fly out in those days. If your contract was for

6 months then that meant 6 months on the island, no escape.! !

After his first stint on Groote, Frank did a tour of Europe and then came back and odd jobbed

around Alice and Darwin for a few years. He dabbled in the construction industry working on

construction sites in Darwin, Hooker Creek and Umbakumba.

There was a lot of infrastructure development happening due to the NT being granted self

government. Frank bought a backhoe and started his own subcontracting business. Frank had the

only backhoe in the region and worked mainly at Hooker Creek and Wave Hill.! !

Frank celebrated his 21st birthday at the dry community of Hooker Creek. He cracked open a

souvenir Darwin stubby he had been saving for his family back in Melbourne. The event sowed a

seed that would soon change his life.

He was working on the construction of the Wave Hill Police Station and one Sunday was

wondering what he could do for some entertainment. Frank came up with a contractors verses

government workers cricket match. The fun starved community thought it was a great idea, so

Frank immediately ordered two kegs of beer from Katherine for the big match to be held the

following Saturday.

The only problem Frank faced was the two kegs were emptied long before the sides were picked,

the coin tossed or anyone set foot on the pitch. Hundreds of people had turned up with all the

excitement. Frank was quick off the mark organising mates to do ute runs to Top Springs Hotel and

back loaded with beer. Three days later the crowd was still there. No one wanted to go home or to

work.

Over the next few months a makeshift bar and a spinifex 4 poster bough shed were built. Frank

lived in a caravan a few paces away and was surprised every night when he came home from work

someone was there having a few beers. They were the humble begins of a new Territory business

nicknamed “Frank’s Bar and Grill.”

It wasn't strictly legitimate. Slabs of beer were brought out from Katherine on the backs of

contractors utes or trucks to keep the amber fluids flowing. The back of the shed establishment

was frequented by all far and wide, the cops, nurses, school teachers, ringers, contractors and

visiting government officials. Every day at about 4pm whom ever was thirsty and in the area would

turn up for a beer and a chat until abut 7 or 8 when Frank would call out time for grub and

everyone would go home to eat.

The Grill side of the business wasn't legit either. It only operated as a BBQ on weekends and Frank

often said a prayer “Dear Lord, for these rib bones we are about to receive make us truly thankful.”

The prayer wasn't for the kind of Lord you thought of either, its was for Lord Vesty who unwittingly

supplied the killers.

Frank’s Bar and Grill became very popular in the region and continued for a few years much the

same way as it began. However, one of the highest authorities in the NT, the Commissioner of

Police was in the bar one evening knocking down a few ales when he called Frank over for a yarn.! !

Franky he said, we gonna have to do something about this, your covert bar is getting too popular

and it’s in full view of the Police Station. He said there is no way you will ever get a hotel licence

way out here but maybe you can try for a club licence. It was 1982 and that’s exactly what Frank

did, he formed the Wave Hill Cricket Club and a licence was granted.

So the legendary bar became legit and traded on for some 14 years.

Frank being an entrepreneur never stopped once the licence was granted. Communities far and

wide came to play the legendary Wave Hill Cricket Club, more for the social event than a sporting

feat. The word spread and soon southern radio stations were on the blower looking for yarns about

the bar and associated events. Frank’s Bar and Grill was becoming famous. The bar was rigged

out with cricketing memorabilia and was often frequented by visiting celebrities.

Gerard Neesham, a well known West Australian sporting identity got stranded in Wave Hill one

night and ended up in Franks Bar. Ted Egan and a few other NT characters were also there so it

became a night to remember. Neesham saw a poem about famous cricketer Rod Marsh on the

wall. Frank had already appointed Rod “Bacchus” Marsh as the Number 1 ticket holder at the club.

He told Frank he and Rod were mates and thought he could get him and a few other top players to

come up for a match.

A few weeks later Frank was sent a story written in the West Australian by Terry Alderman.

Alderman wrote that he and Rod Marsh had formed a World IX and they were going to Wave Hill to

give the locals a run for their money. It was the start of the Wave Hill v’s the World cricket matches.

It was 1990 and the Wave Hill Cricket match got huge publicity nationwide. Marsh, Alderman,

Darryl Summers, Bush Tuckerman aka Les Hiddens, Ted Egan and a few other notables flew in

and played some historic games. Frank even had replica seagulls made that were placed in the

“Outer” to give the game a slight feel of the MCG.

Franks creativity didn't end there, he also created a series called “A Territory Life Story” which was

a bush take on “This is Your Life”. The regions greats were honoured and secretly brought to the

Bar under false pretences. They were huge weekends and personalities such as trucking legend

Noel Buntine were afforded the honour.

The famous bar had run unabated for 14 years. However, Frank’s kids were growing up and

needing high school education. The closest school was in Katherine. The time had come to move

on, so Frank handed in the licence and moved to a block he had bought on the outskirts of

Katherine.

Frank did the odd bar work around Katherine for awhile when an offer came to manage what is

now known as the Katherine Country Club. That was 1994 and Frank soon learned it was a club

going backwards. The issue was golf players spend 4-5 hours out hitting a ball around and have

little time to sit in the bar and drink. So by 1996 Frank broadened the membership to include social

members, lengthened the trading hours, introduced Keno, Poker machines, the TAB and never

looked back. However in 1998 the historic Katherine floods hit and practically wiped out everything. ! !

Undeterred Frank set up some of shipping containers and a huge tarpaulin in the carpark and that

became the defacto clubhouse and bar. It was rough and ready but it kept everyone united in their

struggle to survive.

$750,000 was borrowed for the rebuild which was completed in 1999. The club survived the

disaster and is doing very well. Membership is up to 1,600 and more improvements have been

made every year.

The golf course has been redeveloped with new features and even though it is only 9 holes, Frank

would love the course to be known as the best 9 hole golf course in the Southern Hemisphere. ! !

A huge permanent marquee costing $120,000 has been purchased from Germany and is set up in

an area adjacent to the outdoor bar. It gets used for weddings parties and anything. Kids are

looked after too and a large inground jumping pillow has been installed for their enjoyment.! !

As a visionary Frank would like to develop the property into a true Country Club with Resort style

motel rooms and cabins. There is even room to develop an RV/caravan park on the location. The

concept if successful will drive those customers into the bar and restaurant which will further

benefit the club.

Frank is part of the social fabric of the region and has done much to cement the Katherine

community together. His experience of doing things the hard way in a remote and hostile part of

the NT taught him well. Residents and visitors to Katherine can now enjoy some first class facilities

thanks to the foresight of Frank Dalton.

Frank returns home after epic journey

Katherine publican Frank Dalton returned home on Saturday from his epic journey across the Simpson Desert where he encountered unseasonal rain.

Along with his brother Jim, Mr Dalton was accompanying a Brian Catalina Entertainment camera crew documenting duo Mark George and Sebastian Copeland’s 520 kilometre trek across the Simpson Desert.

The Daltons were accompanying the film crew, carrying essentials and helping them navigate their way across the rugged country.

The pair have had experience looking after film crews undertaking desert journeys before, helping out the film crew for the Bush Tucker Man 20-years-ago.

Frank said they encountered some rare rain which made it tough crossing one of the expansive salt lakes.

“Although it packs it down and makes it easier to cross the dunes you still have to get across the flats,” he said.

“We got bogged in a salt lake for four or five hours one day and we were just taking turns winching each other out.

“We just had to focus on trying to get out because if we didn’t we could’ve been in there for a week.”

Although the Daltons and the film crew kept in close contact with the hikers they were not allowed to supply them as much as a glass of water.

Mr George and Mr Copeland used specially made sulkies to lug about 175 kilograms of supplies, mostly water, across the desert.

Frank said one of the highlights of the trip was standing on top of Big Red, the last sand dune before Birdsville, and watching the duo pull the sulkies up the famous hill.

“It was pretty spectacular on the top of Big Red and it was their final hurdle because it’s only 30 ks into Birdsville from there,” he said.

“By the time they’d got to that part of the trip they had nearly run out of water, they only had enough for one more day.”

The crew arrived in Birdsville last week and made a quick exit before the rain that stalled The Birdsville Cup rolled in.

Frank said he thoroughly enjoyed his desert adventure but he was relieved to be home.

“It’s good to be back in Katheirne,” he said