The White Horse Hotel was under the licence of John Ahern from August 1887.
Ahern had previously had a licence for the All Nations Hotel (February 1887). He had taken over the All Nations Hotel and licence from Eric Nels Buckland in 1887, and appears to have changed the hotel’s name to the White Horse. The hotel was at the western end of Oak Street, on the Box Street corner.
John Ahern did not apply to renew the licence in 1891 as he was thinking of moving to Longreach. When the railway line continued to Longreach in 1892, Mr. Ahern snr. shifted there, but did not relocate his Barcaldine premises to the new town as some had done. He engaged G A Henderson, the Barcaldine builder, to construct a new establishment costing £730 (Western Champion 9/01/1892). In some sources, it was reported that he moved the hotel and renamed it the Railway Hotel. The Longreach Railway Hotel was therefore a new building opposite the Railway station on the south-west corner of Wonga and Galah streets. The one-storey hotel was renovated to a two-storey establishment in July 1899.
The Railway Hotel (Longreach) licence was transferred from John Ahern to his son, John Ahern Jnr in April 1898.
The old White Horse Hotel building was probably repurposed or pulled down.
