The northern suburbs landmark, which has been owned by WIN Corporation for decades, was passed in at an on-site auction on Saturday morning as bids did not meet the reserve price.

However, the vendor and Shellharbour Workers' Club representatives - the highest bidders at $1.925 million - quickly reached an agreement on a price after the auction closed.

Colliers International managing director Simon Kersten said both parties did not want to reveal what was paid for the hotel.

He said the new owners were planning to maintain the pub as a hospitality venue, which would possibly host functions and weddings or house a cafe or restaurant.

‘‘Shellharbour Workers Club has every intention of being faithful to the building’s heritage, and has plans to restore it to its former grandeur,’’ Mr Kersten said.

At the auction, which was attended by a crowd of about 150 onlookers, bidding started very low - at just $800,000.

Auctioneer Paul Casarotto said he couldn’t possibly accept such a low price, instead suggesting he would open bids at about $1.4 to $1.5 million.

After a few moments of silence from the 10 registered bidders, he agreed to start at $1 million.

From there, bids rose slowly up to $1.55 million, with Colliers agents pausing proceedings several times to speak to interested parties.

Sweating in his suit while standing in the hot sun, Mr Casarotto joked they might like to move it along a bit, and eventually announced a vendor bid of $1.9 million.

The Shellharbour Workers' Club group agreed to bid $1.925, which was still below the unknown reserve, giving them first dibs to negotiate the sale.

Despite the anticlimactic auction, Mr Kersten described the sale as a ‘‘very good outcome’’ and said it had been ‘‘the busiest campaign we have run, probably ever’’.

He said Colliers had fielded more than 150 inquiries and conducted more that 50 tours of the pub since it went on the market in February.