An Australian farmer who rescued an old pub from the likely hands of overseas owners has revealed his bold choice not to house gambling machines in the 114-year-old venue.

Jackson Macdonald was firmly against the move despite it being a popular path trodden by new age publicans eager to make their investments in old run-down establishments worth it.

The beef farmer said he decided to put family ahead of finance when it came to his Theebine Hotel, a 90-minute drive north of the Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, which he acquired in October 2020 for $800,000.

Having since spent close to $1 million on the venue – all while keeping its doors open – it has become a hive of activity among locals and travellers, particularly on weekends.

“There’s no form of gambling there at all, which is proper old style for a pub, especially because most of them are full of Keno and pokie machines,” the 45-year-old told news.com.au.

“There’s actually no gambling licence attached to our licence at all. I just wanted it to be like an old traditional style hotel.”

He said he wasn’t in the least bit tempted to have a gambling offering at the pub, which is in the Gympie region of Queensland.

“It doesn’t interest me. I’m not a gambler myself so I wasn’t interested,” he said.

Mr Macdonald has completely revived the interior of the venue and done up its front veranda, which has proven very popular among patrons of all nationalities who pass through.

He said that while he didn’t feel there was anything “too special” about the pub, which he has vowed to pass down to his son when the time comes, it was one of the last left of its kind.

“It’s an old historic pub which we sort of have bugger all left of that era in Queensland,” he said.

One of three pubs owned by Mr Macdonald, the Theebine Hotel has a healthy selection of 10 taps, which the publican said was reasonably rare.

Free camping has also helped draw in the crowds, with backpackers taking advantage of the pub’s attractive offerings.

“Because we do free camping we get piles of backpackers from all over the world. Heaps of Germans, Dutch, Italians, and we’ve had a few Canadians through recently,” Mr Macdonald said.

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Despite his roaring success as a publican, Mr Macdonald has maintained his main gig in beef farming.

Asked whether the Theebine Hotel had anything to offer a vegan crowd, his answer was unsurprising: “Taxis and pushbikes.”

“Or some grass clippings out the back,” he joked.

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