Collits' Inn: Uncovering the Past

A Brief History of Collits’ Inn, Hartley Vale NSW     

Collits’ Inn is one of Australia’s earliest surviving colonial inns and an important landmark in the history of travel across the Blue Mountains. Built in 1823 by former convict Pierce Collits, the inn was strategically located at the foot of Mount York on the original western road leading from Sydney to Bathurst. At the time, travellers, settlers, stockmen and government officials crossing the rugged Blue Mountains relied heavily on wayside inns for accommodation, food and supplies.

Pierce Collits arrived in New South Wales as a convict in 1801 but later received a pardon from Governor Macquarie and became a respected grazier and government official. In 1821, the Collits family was granted land west of the Blue Mountains, and by 1823 Pierce established the inn, originally known as the “Golden Fleece”. The inn quickly became a key stopping point on the western route, particularly before the opening of Victoria Pass in 1832, which diverted much of the traffic away from Hartley Vale.

During its peak years, Collits’ Inn welcomed travellers, mail coaches and stockmen moving cattle and sheep into the western districts. Several Governors of New South Wales are known to have visited and stayed overnight at the inn in 1829 (Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Darling) and 1832 (Major-General Sir Richard Bourke), highlighting its importance in the colony’s early transport network to Bathurst. The site also served as a gathering point for stock sales and social activity in the region.

Following the decline in passing road traffic after the construction of Victoria Pass, the property gradually transitioned from a busy inn into a farming enterprise. The inn had a signifcant impact on Australian history with Collits’ Inn an Australian musical play being written with music by Varney Monk. Its first staging was in December 1932 at the Savoy Theatre in Sydney. After a decade of success, including the post office franchise in 1830, the Golden Fleece declined after 1834 and Collits opened new inns first in Little Hartley, then in Hartley. The Hartley Vale property then became primarily a farm retained by Pierce Collits until his death in 1848

Ownership passed through several families during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the Whalan and Commens families. In 1946 the property was purchased by Croatian immigrant Steve Pilarcik, whose family retained ownership for several decades. Collits Inn was eventually acquired from the Pilarcik’s in 1998 by the Stewarts, who completed a restoration in 2001. Whereby Christine used that experience and her passion for the property as motivation for writing a book on the inn it’s history and restoration. The inn was then bought by the Macdonalds in 2007 as a home, being leased as a wedding venue in 2014 and then susequently purchased by the current owners Darren and Lee-Ann Byrnes in April 2025.

Recognising its historical and architectural significance, Collits’ Inn was placed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999. Extensive restoration work undertaken from the late 1990s helped preserve the inn and its associated buildings, including the stables, barn and outbuildings. Today the property operates as a heritage accommodation, wedding and events venue, while continuing to reflect the atmosphere and character of early colonial Australia.

Collits’ Inn remains an enduring symbol of early settlement beyond the Blue Mountains and provides a rare connection to the pioneering history of New South Wales. Its preservation allows visitors to experience an authentic part of Australia’s colonial past within the scenic landscape of Hartley Vale under Mt York.