O'Reilly's Guest House (now known as O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat) in Lamington National Park opened for business Easter 1926.
In 1911, eight men of the O'Reilly family from the Blue Mountains district selected 100 acres of land to create a diary farm. In 1915 Lamington National Park was proclaimed, preventing further development in the area, and leaving the O'Reilly's farm an island surrounded by the new national park. In the same year the Stock Yard Creek Track running down the mountain into the Kerry Valley was completed, enticing sightseers to the area.
The Beauties of Lamington Plateau – Queensland’s National Park. Published in The Queenslander, 4 November 1916. John Oxley Library, SLQ. Neg 702692-19161104-0024
By 1926 the O'Reilly's had decided to abandon farming and built the guest house to capitalise on the increasing tourist interest. Due to its remote location guests had to ride up the mountain on horseback. Access was improved in the mid-1930's with the construction of a road linking O'Reilly's with the town of Canungra.
O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park. Image in copyright. From 7032 Kahlert collection of colour slides 1970-1990. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image 7032-0001-0003
State Library of Queensland has a number of items documenting the history of O'Reilly's Guest House, including photographs and historical tourist information guides.
Tourist pamphlets for O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in the John Oxley Library Collection. State Library of Queensland
You can find more information about the history of O'Reilly's Guest House on their website.
Myles Sinnamon - Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland
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