Rediscovering Ginninderra:
Old Canberra Inn / The Pines

The Old Canberra Inn is one of the earliest licensed pubs in the Canberra region, Australia. The building pre-dates the city itself. It is located in the present day suburb of Lyneham.

The original slab hut was built in 1857 by Joseph Schumack and in 1876 it was licensed as an inn. It was a coach stop on the Yass to Queanbeyan run until 1887 when it was sold to John Read. It became the Read family home until 1974, called The Pines until it was renovated and relicensed as the Old Canberra Inn.

Joseph Shumack (1836-1901) built the "Old Canberra Inn" in 1857. He was born in Ireland in 1836 and migrated to Australia in 1841 at the age of 5 with his parents John Schmack (1812-1849) and Margaret O'Toole.[1] They were part of the Shumack family who are credited with making substantial contributions to the development of Canberra. The most famous member of this family was Samuel Shumack who was Joseph's cousin.

John Read (1868-1917) who bought the Old Canberra Inn in 1887 converted it back to a residence and called it "The Pines". The Read family lived there for almost ninety years. John Read was born in 1868 in Canberra. His father was Hugh Read (1838-1894) who arrived in Australia in 1856 at the age of 18. Hugh worked for Joseph Shumack and in 1862 he married Joseph's sister Eliza Shumack.[10] The couple had ten children and settled on a property called "Wattle Grove" at Sutton.

[Extracts from Wikipedia Old Canberra Inn