The Bethungra Tea House is the result of two years work by Gaylene and Garry Crabtree, who bought the old school house with the aim of renovating it and turning it into a tourist attraction.

That hard work paid off on Sunday with an estimated 300 people coming through the doors for a cup of coffee, tea or a snack.

On the opening day visitors came from all parts of the country, including Melbourne, Canberra, Wagga, Eurongilly, Junee, and locals.

The tea house is ideally situated on the highway

and should bring more awareness to the small village.

“It’s a relaxing stop on the highway,” Mrs Crabtree said.

Much of the work in restoring the old school house included fixing a leaky roof, building a new toliet block, establishing a garden and a lot of cleaning.

Already plans for the future are underway with gazebos and water features to be built.

“We will eventually have a market day at the school house ... but details need to be worked out,” Mrs Crabtree said.

Mrs Crabtree’s son, 16-year-old Jesse, has already become an expert baristra having used the coffee machine to make hundreds of coffees over the weekend.

A lot of the artwork and giftware in the tea house will be Mrs Crabtree’s own handiwork, while a number of Coolamon and Junee locals have donated jams, chutneys and relishes to be sold.

Mrs Crabtree said one of the big selling points would be a room dedicated to memorabilia from the old school, which is sure to capture the interest of locals and visitors alike.