Rosebery · West Coast Tasmania · Est. 1930

A Century of West Coast Character

In 2030, The Top Pub Rosebery turns 100 years old. Built to serve the miners of the west coast, it has stood through a century of booms, busts, floods and fires — and it's still standing.

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1930
Year the pub was built
95
Years serving Rosebery
2030
The centenary year
100
Years of cold beer
The Story

Built for the Miners.
Still Here for Everyone.

The Top Pub was built in 1930 at a moment when Rosebery was becoming a real town. The mines were finding their footing after the Great Depression, the mill was nearly complete, and a growing community of miners and their families needed somewhere to gather. The pub on Agnes Street was the answer — and it's been the answer ever since.

1893
Gold and zinc discovered
Prospector Tom McDonald discovers gold and zinc-lead sulphide on the slopes of Mount Black. The Rosebery Prospecting Association is formed and the west coast's next great mining town begins to take shape.
1893
1920s
1920s
The Electrolytic Zinc Company takes over
EZ purchases the mines, builds housing for workers and begins construction of the elaborate Hercules aerial ropeway. Rosebery is becoming a proper company town — and a proper town needs a proper pub.
1930
The Top Pub opens its doors
The pub is constructed on Agnes Street, Rosebery — built to serve the growing community of west coast miners and their families. From its first day, its purpose was simple: cold beer, hot meals and a warm welcome for everyone who worked and lived on the west coast.
1930
1936
1936
The Rosebery Mill begins continuous operation
The mill is commissioned in February 1936, starting what would become 90 years of unbroken mining operation — one of the longest in Australian history. The pub becomes the natural social centre for an increasingly busy workforce.
1940s–50s
Post-war boom years
Australia's post-war industrial expansion drives demand for zinc and lead. Rosebery grows, the mine deepens and the pub serves the generations of men who work underground in one of Australia's most demanding environments.
1950s
1986
1986
The aerial ropeway falls silent
The Hercules to Rosebery aerial ore ropeway, an extraordinary piece of industrial engineering that had carried ore across the valley since 1931, ceases operation. The pub watches it go — and keeps going itself.
2009
MMG takes over the mine
Minerals and Metals Group (MMG) acquires the Rosebery operation, bringing new investment and confidence to the town. The mine deepens to over 1.5 kilometres underground and the workforce grows to 700+ employees and contractors.
2009
2026
2026
MMG celebrates 90 years of continuous mining
The Rosebery Mine marks 90 years of unbroken operation — one of Australia's most remarkable mining milestones. MMG announces plans to extend the mine well beyond 100 years. The pub plans to be there for every one of them.
2030
The Top Pub turns 100
A century on Agnes Street. A century of cold beer, hot meals and west coast stories. The centenary year — and we plan to celebrate it properly with the community, the miners, and everyone who has ever passed through these doors.
2030
A Century of Stories

What These Walls Have Seen

Ninety-five years of west coast history has happened inside and around this pub. Here's a small part of what we've been through.

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Generations of Miners

From the EZ men of the 1930s to today's MMG workforce — every generation of west coast miners has come through these doors. Fathers brought sons. Sons brought their own sons. Some families have worked the Rosebery Mine for three generations and drunk in this pub for just as long.

💰

The Booms and the Busts

Zinc prices rise and fall. Governments change. Companies come and go — EZ, Pasminco, Zinifex, OZ Minerals, MMG. The pub has outlasted them all. When times were hard, it stayed open. When times were good, it stayed full. That's what a good local pub does.

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West Coast Weather

The west coast gets more rain than almost anywhere in Australia. Floods, storms and the kind of winter weather that makes the rainforest extraordinary and the roads treacherous. The pub has been a dry refuge through all of it — literally and figuratively.

🎉

The Celebrations

Births, birthdays, weddings, retirements, footy finals, mining milestones, New Year's Eves — nearly a century of community celebrations have happened in this building. The function room has seen more of Rosebery's joy than anywhere else in town.

🚶

Travellers Passing Through

Long before Montezuma Falls became a tourist attraction, adventurous travellers were stopping in Rosebery on their way along the west coast. Miners turned explorers, bushwalkers, the occasional writer or artist — the pub has always been the place where stories from the road get told.

🏘

The Community Through It All

A pub in a small town is more than a place to drink. It's where the community breathes together — the informal town square, the place news travels, where people check in on each other. For nearly 100 years, The Top Pub has been that place for Rosebery.

"This mine has been a huge part of my life. The people, the pride in the work we do, and the sense of community are what have kept generations coming back."
— Ian Pigden, 55 years at the Rosebery Mine · 2026
2030 Centenary

Be Part of the 100th Year

We're planning something special for 2030. Register your interest now and we'll keep you informed about centenary events, celebrations and how you can be part of this milestone moment for Rosebery and the west coast.

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Come In While We're Still 95

Don't wait for the centenary. The pub is open now — cold beer, hot meals, comfortable rooms and nearly 100 years of west coast character waiting for you.

Book a Room 📞 (03) 6473 1351