Colin Whelan released the first volume Drinking in the Rivers, which highlights the memorable pubs and unforgettable characters of the Murray and Edward Rivers.

The book is the first of a planned trilogy and starts in the Australian Alps at Benambra in Victoria and finishes near the Murray Mouth at Goolwa in South Australia.

Whelan's finished product was delayed by 12 months due to COVID, which included a another visit to the Upper Murray early in 2020 after the devastating bushfires.

Each day on the road involved around three days of research, trolling through Trove, his own library, speaking with historical societies and catching up with notable characters and experts.

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"I want my work to entertain but I want it also to make readers restless - to enthuse them to hit the road and visit, not necessarily places and pubs I've written about, but to discover their own jewels out there," Whelan said,

"To be entertained by the exuberant Phil Coysh in the Tinpot at Tintaldra, listen to his insights and then be invited back to his home and be shown the ruins of Watson's original Tintaldra Hotel was an enormous privilege."

"To share times at the Jingellic Hotel with Rex Beaver, who migrated to this country on his own as a 15-year-old boy from Leicester, England, landed in Sydney, learnt how to milk a cow, was put on a train to Albury.

"Collected by a farmer and taken to Talmalmo and woke up the next morning thinking he was in the most beautiful place on earth.

"His tale about piloting his ride-on mower to the pub after glaucoma robbed him of his driver's licence is a highlight of the entire book.

"To hear that Rex is so loved in his local community that they've named a new pedestrian bridge after him, is nothing short of fitting.

"Spending time with the circle of old mates who've met after the sheep sales every Monday for the last 50 years at the Newmarket in Corowa - with its roof sign proclaiming it the Old Cockys Pub - grounded me back to just how central pubs are to their communities and how strong the bonds can be."

The book is available at nothingbutthepub.com.

The Border Mail readers can receive a 20 per cent discount by entering BorderPost as the promo code.

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