After filling up stomachs and petrol tanks, it was back in the car and on the way.

But improvements to the highway have seen townships bypassed, streamlining the route from Sydney to Melbourne so motorists need only get out of their vehicles at large service centres, marooned in the landscape of featureless tarmac. Without the passing parade, some places withered. One bucking the trend is Jugiong, the little town that could.

With a population of just over 200, Jugiong was the epitome of a sleepy valley where you could shoot a cannon down the main street - one church, one petrol pump, one pub - without fear of hitting anyone. These days, you'd be lucky to find a parking spot in what has become an example par excellence of destination dining, long-haul travel style.

Sitting close to the half-way mark between Sydney and Melbourne, Jugiong is a good place to spend the night if you're driving in either direction and want to spread the journey over two days. The cafe which almost single-handedly kicked everything off and has been drawing in the punters ever since, is Long Track Pantry. For the past decade word-of-mouth said this was the place to stop, revive and survive the gruelling road trip.

And while the queues were growing for Long Track Pantry lunches, coffee, and take-home preserves and pies, right next door Australia's oldest family-owned pub was mouldering from neglect. The Sir George, built in 1852, had seen seven generations of the original owner, John Sheahan, before it was put up for tender and bought by mother and daughter team, Liz Prater and Kate Hufton, in 2015.

Their dreams of restoring the grand old institution have finally come to fruition, with the Sir George now offering travellers a feed and an overnight stay. But there were hiccups on the way.

Liz, an interior and garden designer, was over from Perth visiting her daughter Kate, who'd married a local farmer, when she saw the place. It was just a run-down pub with a lot of possums in residence. The building was falling to ruin with electrical and power issues but, cannily, the liquor licence had been retained.

In spite of the decay, the women had a vision for renovating the hotel and providing accommodation in a beautiful garden setting. Work began in January 2016, but various problems with fire regulations, stairs and disabled access meant they had to shelve the accommodation plans for a later date and push ahead with the pub, which opened for business at the end of that year.

Fortunately, Liz's partner Kim Gamble had spent 30 years in restaurants, pubs and bakeries, and his skills allowed the St George to further cement Jugiong's foodie reputation. When we visited a couple of months ago, he took us on tour.

''I've always had a passion for bread,'' says Gamble. ''We developed a really good sourdough culture from the high country up near Adjungbilly. The Wild Billy loaf is a beautiful sweet sourdough and we built a wood-fired oven in the old laundry to a design by Australian blacksmith Alan Scott. Scott promulgated the wood-fired bread revolution in America.''

As well as bread, they make their own sausages and many other menu items are sourced locally - Riverina beef, lamb from Kate's farm, olive oil from Harden and wines from the surrounding Hilltops region.

As we walk through the pub kitchen, Gamble proudly shows off the Spanish charcoal oven, one of only a handful in Australia. ''It is an unbelievably hot oven that keeps the steaks moist. We are pretty serious about what we do.''

It is 41 degrees as we walk across the property to view the new accommodation which is nearing completion: eight standalone A-frame bungalows whose exterior timbers have been finished in Japanese-style charred cladding. Just as well the original 1852 hotel rooms proved unviable for renovation; these luxury ''huts'' employ the latest design standards, including insulation, which means when we enter they are cool even without the airconditioning turned on.

The rooms are spacious with five-metre-high pitched roofs, and include a mix of wheelchair accessible, family accommodation with bunk beds, and queen-sized rooms for two, all arranged around a huge lawn lined with silver birches.

In addition, three additional rooms were created in one of the old buildings onsite - the Cobb and Co stables. Where horses rested, now luxe accommodation with traditional European oak flooring, exposed sandstone walls and French linen is found.

While the Sir George has been busy since the new owners opened, ''and almost too busy some times'', they realised that to create a destination to which people would come they needed more than just food and beds. ''We are right on the beautiful Murrumbidgee so we are going to do things on the river, such as a canoe trail from Yass to Gundagai for guests,'' Gamble says.

''We are also holding a craft beer and a wine festival to create interest in the area. Our chef, Nick Williams, does market days ... We are trying to fill the calendar.''

They are also filling up the property. There's a tiny garden shop in a potting shed built from timbers lying around the place, a kids' playground, and they are building a redwood barn for bakery and cooking classes.

Things are happening in Jugiong.

As well as a couple of new shops selling giftwares and leather goods, there's a new art gallery coming to town, and Long Track Pantry has opened a gelato bar called Lickety Splits.

''A lot of people coming from Sydney or Melbourne use this as their meal stop,'' Gamble says. ''Some of them must want a bed for the night.''

The Sir George is now ready to welcome them.