The post keeps the flood marks, the table keeps the score
The old store by the river crossing sold fuel, rope and tinned peaches for sixty years, and the gauge post inside still carries a notch for every big wet. We put a grill along one wall and six card tables along the other. No poker machines, no online play, no money on any hand.
A store, a crossing and a post full of notches
Everything that came up the highway once stopped at this door. The store sold fuel and rope, and when the river came up the family marked the water on a hardwood post beside the counter and wrote the year beside it.
That post is still there, notches and all, holding up a corner of the grill wall. We kept the pressed tin, the wide verandah and the ceiling fans, and we threw out almost everything else.
Around eighty people fit in comfortably. Past that the fans lose the argument with the noise, and nobody wins a hand they cannot hear being called.
Six tables
Timber tops, cloth stretched fresh each month, counters that keep score and nothing else.
One grill
Fish, mango and whatever the garden behind the kitchen is doing this month.
Two seasons
The dry runs long and busy; the wet runs short, slow and cooler indoors.
Barramundi, green mango and something cold
The grill runs on hardwood and the board changes with what comes in: barramundi and saratoga from the river blokes, mango and bush limes in the build-up, greens from the beds behind the kitchen the rest of the year.
Five taps, all cold, all poured into a chilled glass because a warm beer up here is a personal insult. Wine is a short list of whites that survive the trip.
The grill stops at ten. After that the counter keeps going with cold plates, pickles and toasted sandwiches until the last hand finishes.
Off the grill
Two fish, one steak, one meat-free plate, written up each afternoon.
Cold and quick
Green mango salad, prawns, pickles and bread, out in five minutes.
Five taps
Two lagers, a mid-strength, a stout for the wet and one guest tap.
What runs on which day
Teaching hour at 5pm, four seats, free
Quiet tables, table boss walks the room
Grill night, kitchen busiest, book ahead
Full house, all six tables running
Early doors, long afternoon on the verandah
Slow tables, early close, one grill service
Deliveries, cleaning and a day off
Six questions the counter answers weekly
Can I play through this website from home?
You cannot. There is no app, no login and no online room — this website only tells you where the building is. The cards are dealt at 24 Katherine Terrace, Katherine NT 0850 and nowhere else.
Is there money riding on a game?
Never. Counters track points for the evening, they cannot be bought or cashed, and there is no pot, no entry fee and no wagering of any description.
Are there pokies anywhere in here?
No gaming machines at all, not one. Plenty of places up the highway have them; we do not.
Do the hours change with the wet?
They do. Through the wet we open later and shut earlier, and Sunday sometimes goes altogether. The board out front and the phone are always right.
I have never held a hand of cards. Am I wasting your time?
Not remotely. That is what Tuesday at five is for, it takes an hour and it costs nothing.
Can I bring the kids for a feed?
Sorry, no. The whole building is over-18s, grill included, and there is no way around that.
Six tables in the old storeroom
The storeroom out the back had no windows to the street, which turned out to be exactly what a card room wants: no glare, no traffic, one lamp hung low over each table and a door you can shut on the verandah singing.
People play social card games here for points. Counters are handed out at the start of the night and handed back at the end. They are never sold, never cashed and worth exactly nothing once you walk out.
There is no house dealer standing over you. A table boss volunteers each night, keeps the pace honest and explains anything a newcomer asks twice.
Four open tables
Walk up and sit down. No booking, no list, no fuss.
Two held tables
Held on the phone for groups of up to six until half past seven.
Tuesday teaching
An hour before doors get busy, free, four seats, no experience wanted.
Six things we ask of everyone
- Everyone in the building is 18 or over. Staff ask for identification whenever they feel like asking.
- Counters keep score for the night. They are not sold, not bought back and carry no value in cash.
- No money passes between players over a hand, at a table or out on the verandah.
- There are no poker machines in this building and there never will be while we run it.
- Phones go on silent. Take the call on the verandah where the fans drown you out.
- We stop serving anyone who has had a skinful, and we would rather call you a lift than argue about it.
The room, the counter and the crossing
Where we are and when we are open
On the highway
24 Katherine Terrace, Katherine NT 0850
Phone and email
+61 8 8971 2246 · counter@billabongplay.com
Open
Tuesday to Sunday, 4pm – midnight (dry season hours)
Four lines off the card we hand out at the door
These are the four things people ring the counter about before they drive in, so we printed them and stopped repeating ourselves down a crackly line.
Ring the counter, not a booking site
Somebody picks up from two in the afternoon. Tell us whether you are coming to eat, to play or to do both, and we will keep something for you.