Bundaberg Rum Distillery

Australia's most famous distillery — guided tours and tastings of Bundy Rum since 1888

Address Hills Street, East Bundaberg

The Bundaberg Rum Distillery has been making molasses-based dark rum on the same site by the Burnett River since 1888. It is one of Australia's most iconic industrial sites and the source of the polar-bear-branded bottles in every Australian liquor cabinet.

Guided distillery tours run hourly through the day — about 90 minutes including the cooperage, the molasses tanks, the still room, and the rum-vats hall. You finish in the tasting room, where the standard tour comes with two complimentary nips. Several premium tours ("Blend Your Own", "Mighty Bundy") extend the experience. The adjacent Bundaberg Barrel — built to resemble a giant bourbon barrel — houses the brand's history museum and gift shop.

Closed-toe shoes required for the production-area tours. Book ahead at peak periods.

things to do sight museum
A story
The polar bear on every bottle dates from 1961 — Bundaberg Rum was being marketed as a winter warmer for the New Zealand market, and the bear was chosen as the friendliest possible mascot for a fiercely strong drink. The original copper still, made in 1888, was destroyed in a 1907 fire; the current still — the 'Mighty Bundy' — has been in continuous use since 1908.