Man moves across Australia to open mate's pub after he was eaten by crocodile
Fisherman Kevin Darmody ran the Peninsula Hotel in the Cape York town of Laura for over 20 years before he was killed by a crocodile last year.
A year after a beloved Aussie was killed by a crocodile in Queensland's far north, leaving a tiny town without a local pub, his best friend has sprung into action and resurrected the legacy he left behind.
Kevin "Stumpy" Darmody ran the Peninsula Hotel in the Cape York town of Laura — some 300 kilometres northwest of Cairns — for over 20 years before he was killed by a crocodile last year.
The 65-year-old went missing while fishing on the Kennedy River at Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park in the state's far north in April of 2023, but his body was not located until May, when wildlife officers shot and killed a crocodile during their search, discovering his remains in its stomach.
Now, Darmody's best mate has Stuart Wiggins has picked up where he left off, breathing new life into the hotel that was left behind.
Work done 'day and night' to restore pub to former glory
Wiggins, from Canberra where the duo both grew up, left the capital three weeks ago to trim the three-metre long weeds that covered the pub, "working day and night" to revive the Peninsula to its former glory.
"I've been coming up for 20 years myself and watched all the hard work Kev's put in and I thought I didn't want to see that get wasted," Wiggins told the ABC. "The weeds were like trees. We've worked from day to night and it's looking really good now."
In honour of his late friend, Wiggins renamed the hotel "Stumpy's Bar" — explaining that the late publican first moved to the area 20 years ago after he came across the town on a 4WD trip across northern Australia. "I've got a nice big sign out the front of the pub to remember him," Wiggins said.
Kevin Darmody warned others of croc dangers prior to his death
Recalling how the pair "got on like a house on fire", Wiggins said he had "fished off the same spot" where Darmody was taken "so many times". "He was always warning people going out there, 'don't get too close to the water. If you fall in you're not going to get out, "so what happened that day we'll never ever know", he said.
Wiggins said Darmody was known to for his tough exterior, but he would "give you the shirt off his back and do anything for you". "Even the week before he passed, he bought a plane ticket to sneak down to surprise me for my 60th birthday," he said.
Prior to Darmody's death, Wiggins was working a "cruisy job" at Parliament House in Canberra. His family say he's "mad" for leaving that life behind to re-enter the hospitality sector, in which he worked for three decades — even running two pubs with Darmody. Wiggins left behind his wife and adult son to make "a massive move" that's upended his life.
"It was a massive move to leave my family behind but even my lady Tanya knew it was something I needed to do," Wiggins said. "I couldn't just sit at parliament thinking the place was going to go to rack and ruin."
Stumpy's Bar has now secured a liquor licence and is due to open at the end of the week.
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