Larrimah

Today I listened to a highly entertaining Conversations podcast featuring the co-author of a book about Larrimah. (“Larrimah” by Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson, Allen and Unwin.)

Larrimah is a hamlet on the Stuart Highway, the great caravanner’s route between Adelaide and Darwin. It’s midway between Daly Waters and Katherine. Larrimah has a population of eleven, none of whom seem to like each other, according to the authors of this book. Larrimah has a pink pub called the Pink Panther and Fran’s Devonshire Tea House which serves buffalo pies, camel waffles, instant coffee and ‘a form of Devonshire tea’. There is a Big Stubbie outside the pub, and no fuel since the roadhouse burned down in 2007.

Larrimah was the railhead on the line that carried Australian and American troops north to Darwin during World War 2. Since the line closed in the 1970s the once busy settlement has slowly declined.

Larrimah hit the news in 2017 when a resident, 70 year old Paddy Moriarty, disappeared with his kelpie, Kellie. He went home from the pub one night and was never seen again. There was no sign of a disturbance, food was in the microwave and Paddy’s hat, which he always wore, was in the house. There have been lengthy police investigations, searches, an inquest and the offer of a $250,000 reward, but Paddy has not been found and the case is still open.


We must have been to Larrimah, because we have a photo of the Pink Panther, but I don’t remember it. It’s one of the string of stopping places along the 2,800 kms of the Stuart Highway. Some of them are rather self consciously ‘outback’, some are depressingly grotty and a few are downright scary. The extra shows the Daly Waters pub, the next stop after Larrimah on the way south.

I do recommend the podcast and the book.