O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat facts for kids
| O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat | |
Quick facts for kids  Entrance |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
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| Coordinates | 28°13′52″S 153°08′07″E / 28.2312°S 153.1354°E |
| Opening date | 1912 |
| Owner | O'Reilly Family |
O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat is a special place for tourists in Queensland, Australia. It's deep inside the beautiful Lamington National Park, a famous natural area. You can drive there in about two hours from Brisbane or 90 minutes from the Gold Coast. To get there, you drive through a town called Canungra.
O'Reilly's has comfy places to stay and picnic spots. It's also where many fun hiking trails begin. People love it for its amazing rainforest, the unique animals that live there, and because it was the home of Bernard O'Reilly. He was a famous Australian bushman who helped find survivors of a plane crash in 1937. People started staying at O'Reilly's way back in 1926. Before 1947, getting there was tough! But then a gravel road was built, making it much easier to visit.
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The Story of O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat
In 1912, eight brothers from the O'Reilly family started farming in the McPherson Range. They tried to make a living by milking cows and cutting timber. But it was hard, and they didn't earn much money.
In 1915, the amazing Lamington National Park was created all around their land. The O'Reilly brothers then had a new idea. In 1926, they opened O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. At first, the places to stay were very simple. Getting there was an adventure! Visitors had to travel by horse and wagon along a steep mountain path. The O'Reillys had cut this path themselves from Canungra.
Early guests would take a train to Beaudesert. Then, they rode a horse-drawn coach to the Kerry Hotel for the night. The next day, an O'Reilly family member would meet them with horses. Guests would ride horses up the mountain, and their bags were carried by packhorses. In the 1930s, the family started a company to help their business grow. One of the first things they bought was a car to pick up guests from the train station.
A small church, St Joseph's Catholic Church, was moved to O'Reilly's in 1955. It was taken apart, moved, and put back together. This church is still connected to the local Catholic parish. From the 1950s, Mick and Annie O'Reilly, along with their family, managed the retreat.
Between 1990 and 1994, the retreat was made bigger and better. New buildings and updates were added. In 2019, during big bushfires, over 100 guests at O'Reilly's were safely moved. The retreat itself was not harmed, even though nearby areas were affected.
Fun Things to Do at O'Reilly's
There are many exciting things to do at O'Reilly's! You can buy special seed to feed the birds, which is a very popular activity. Bush walking is another favorite thing to do in the area.
Amazing Birdlife
The forests of Lamington National Park are a perfect home for many different birds. Some birds at O'Reilly's are used to people and will come very close. These include the beautiful regent bowerbird, the colorful Australian king parrot, and crimson rosellas. You can also often see Wonga pigeons and the Australian brush turkey.
The 1937 Stinson Plane Crash Site
On February 19, 1937, a plane called the Stinson Model A disappeared during a flight. It was carrying five passengers and two pilots. The plane crashed in the McPherson Range. Both pilots and two passengers died in the crash. One of the survivors died trying to get help.
Bernard O'Reilly from the guesthouse went looking for the plane. He believed it had crashed near the border. He found the wreckage. A statue at O'Reilly's Guesthouse shows this brave rescue.
The crash site is about 8.4 kilometers from O'Reilly's. It has become a popular place for hikers to visit. O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat sometimes organizes guided trips to the wreck. However, it's a very difficult hike because the mountains are steep and the rainforest is thick. Only a small part of the plane's body remains today.
Tree Top Walk
In 1987, O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat opened something very special: the Tree Top Walk. This is a 180-meter long bridge that hangs 20 meters above the rainforest floor. It was the first of its kind in Australia. The Tree Top Walk gives you an amazing view of the rainforest canopy, like looking down from the top of the trees! You can also see wide views of the McPherson Range.
