Lockyer Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lockyer Hotel |
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Lockyer Hotel, Forest Hill, 2012
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| Location | Victoria Street, Forest Hill, Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1906 - 1970s |
| Official name: Lockyer Hotel | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600650 |
| Significant period | 1900s (fabric) 1906-ongoing (historical use) |
| Significant components | kitchen/kitchen house |
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The Lockyer Hotel is a historic hotel located on Victoria Street in Forest Hill, Queensland, Australia. It was built starting in 1906 and continued to be updated into the 1970s. This building is very important to the area's history, which is why it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Hotel's Story
This two-storey wooden hotel was likely built in 1906. A local farmer named Alexander McAllister, who bought the land in 1897, probably had it built. It was the third hotel in Forest Hill. The hotel opened when Forest Hill was growing fast in the early 1900s. At that time, it became a key stop for trains and a service centre for nearby farms. This growth happened after more people moved to the area to farm in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Before the town grew, Forest Hill was part of a huge farm called the Rosewood run. This farm was first set up in the 1840s. Later, a railway line was planned through the area in 1865. Around 1881, a small train stop, or "siding," was built. It was first called Boyd's Siding after a farmer named Mr. AJ Boyd. He had a property called Forest Hill, which is how the siding got its name. The train stop later moved to where the Forest Hill station is today, around 1887.
In the late 1880s, parts of the Rosewood farm were divided into smaller sections for farming. This helped create the farming community in Forest Hill. The town itself really started to grow in the late 1890s. This was after the Queensland government bought back a large area of land near the railway station in 1896. This land, known as the Rosewood Estate, had rich black soil. It was split into smaller blocks, from 70 to 125 acres, and sold to farmers. This was part of a government plan to encourage more farming in the rich Lockyer Valley area. By 1908, Forest Hill was sending out more farm produce than older towns like Gatton and Laidley.
The Lockyer Hotel was built during this exciting time of growth. In November 1906, Alex McAllister got a license to run a hotel. But just a month later, the license went to Frederick William Wilson, who had leased the hotel. In February 1907, Janet Meredith took over the license. She had previously run another hotel in Forest Hill. Mrs. Meredith leased the Lockyer Hotel in 1907 and then bought it in 1911. She owned the hotel until she passed away in 1955. The Lockyer Hotel stayed in the Meredith family until 1969. The dining room, which is in a building attached to the back, was added in the late 1970s.
What the Hotel Looks Like
The Lockyer Hotel stands out on the corner of Victoria and William Streets. It's a two-storey wooden building with its frame visible on the outside. It has wide verandahs that look out onto the street. The roof is made of wavy metal sheets and has a sloped shape. The corner of the building facing the street intersection is cut off, creating a special entrance. There's also an L-shaped wooden building attached to the side on the east.
Inside, the hotel has two bars on the ground floor. Upstairs, there are rooms for guests to stay. The main bar, which you enter from the street corner, used to be two separate rooms. You can still see an old wooden archway and new posts where the wall used to be. The bar has French doors and windows that slide open. There are also arched sliding windows on either side of the corner entrance.
Near the bar, there's an entrance hall that leads to the upstairs rooms. It has a fancy archway above the wooden stairs. The stairs have a beautifully carved railing, and there's a colourful stained glass window on the landing halfway up.
The attached building at the back includes parts of the original kitchen building. You can still see the old fireplace, chimney, and stove. Some windows in this part used to be on the outside of the building.
Upstairs, the guest rooms are small and line a central hallway that runs north to south. The walls are made of wooden planks placed vertically. All the rooms have French doors that open onto a wide verandah.
The verandah has unpainted wooden floors and pretty iron lace railings. A curved roof, called a bull-nosed awning, covers the verandah. Part of the eastern verandah has been closed in. The verandah and its roof are held up by posts with carved tops that rest on square concrete bases. These posts are paired up at the cut-off corner. The outside of the hotel also has decorative wooden screens shaped like arches under the verandah. These screens have small, pretty holes at their ends.
The hotel's outer wooden frame is very strong, with extra supports at the corners. The outside of the building is still in its original condition. Its unique look and location make the Lockyer Hotel one of the most important buildings in Forest Hill.
Why It's a Heritage Site
The Lockyer Hotel was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 because it meets several important rules:
It shows how Queensland's history developed. The Lockyer Hotel in Forest Hill is important because it shows how the town grew in the early 1900s. It became a key place for the farms around it.
It is a great example of this type of old building. The hotel is a good example of a two-storey, early 20th-century wooden hotel found in rural Queensland.
It is important because of how it looks. The Lockyer Hotel is one of the most noticeable and unique buildings in Forest Hill. It adds a lot to the town's look and is valued by the community.
