Local contacting noble (5)

I believe the answer is:

baron

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'noble' is the definition.
(I know that baron is a type of noble)

'local contacting' is the wordplay.
'local' becomes 'bar' (local can mean someone's local pub).
'contacting' becomes 'on' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'bar'+'on'='BARON'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for baron that I've seen before include "A born nobleman" , "Powerful industrialist" , "Titled man for a portion of beef" , "Lowest rank of British peerage" , "Minor nobleman" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.