Royal Hotel Leyburn - owned by Shane Webcke

Former Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian rugby league champion, Shane Webcke, now owns and has restored this classic Leyburn hotel that dates from 1863.

Shane Webcke grew up on a sheep station near Leyburn and his family\'s restoration and improvement of the hotel has been a labour of love. It is still the most popular venue in the region, after more than 140 years of operations. Now retired from rugby lague, Mr Webcke also owns his own farm in the Layburn region and is a regular TV and radio commentator on sport.

LEYBURN BACKGROUND

Leyburn was once the epicentre of the gold rush years of the mid-1800s on the Darling Downs, but later became a hub for agriculture. Today it is a perfect day trip destination from Brisbane or the Gold or Sunshine Coasts.

During World War II, USAAF Liberator squadrons and RAAF squadrons were based in the area and used the site as an air base, just in case the Japanese made it to Brisbane. This was the biggest of 17 air bases to be used as Australia\'s aerial \'fight back\' epicentre.

After the war, using the former air base runways, Leyburn became the home of the 14th Australian Grand Prix road race in 1949. That race was won