THE manager of a West Australian pub has apologised for posting a note saying indigenous people would not be served at the establishment.

Deborah Ovens, who manages the Denver City Hotel in Coolgardie, posted the note after her iPhone was stolen on March 1. It has since been taken down because she got a replacement phone.

“No indigenous person will be served in this hotel until my Apple iPhone is returned that was stolen on 1st March 2014,” the note read. It also named the indigenous person Ms Ovens suspected of stealing her phone.

media_camera ‘No indigenous person will be served’

Ms Ovens told news.com.au she can’t explain why she wrote the note.

“It was a reaction ... I was angry and I shouldn’t have reacted that way and now I’m paying for it,” she said.

“It wasn’t meant or intended to be detrimental to indigenous people, I was just angry that my phone was gone.”

She says she “didn’t think” before acting.

“Absolutely I can understand the reaction — I just didn’t think before I did it,” she said.

“I didn’t realise it was going to offend so many people. I’m upset at what’s happened and that it’s gotten to this stage.”

Earlier she defended writing the note when questioned by WA Today.

“I just put that up to try and get my phone back,” Ms Ovens told WA Today. “You just get so angry when you open up to the community and then you get your property stolen.”

The poster has sparked a backlash on social media, and has been shared more than 800 times on Facebook.

Ms Ovens, who claims there is “no issue” with the note, says several indigenous customers entered the hotel while it was up.

“They came in, we spoke about it, and they left,” Ms Ovens said. “You know, they don’t always have the money to pay for anything anyway.”

Originally published as ‘No indigenous person will be served’