It was 1911 when the O'Reilly boys shouldered their swags and left the relative comfort of the Kerry Hotel to carve a home for themselves on the rainforest covered spurs of the McPherson Ranges.
Overloaded with supplies and equipment they left the Cainbable Creek Valley, climbed the torturous 'Heartbreaker' and scrambled along dense rainforest ridges to claim their selections.
Their motivation was not the beauty of the mountains or a dream of a future tourist industry, it was dairy farming. The government encouraged young men to take up dairying by making land available on the mountain for this purpose.
When the remaining land was withdrawn from selection three months later, eight O'Reilly's boys of two related families from the Blue Mountains in N.S.W. were the only applicants. Tom, Norb, Herb, Mick and Pete built their first hut on top of the cliff at Moran's Falls while cousins Pat, Luke and Joe built theirs at Pat's Bluff. Each man paid thirty-five shillings an acre for approximately one hundred acres of land and could pay it off over thirty years at 5% interest. According to government regulation each selector had to clear his land, plant grass, build fences and yards and establish dairy farms. Their tools of the trade were axes, cross-cut saws, brush hooks and stout hearts.
The Stockyard Creek Track was constructed following the formation of a national park that isolated the O'Reillys' properties and left them with no prospect of a road. When the track was completed in 1914, visitors arrived in increasing numbers attracted by the scenery and wildlife of the area. They stayed in the O'Reilly huts and were taken to the Border Lookouts and Elabana Falls by family members, generally on horse-back, along trails specially cut for the purpose.
The enthusiasm of these visitors influenced the O'Reillys to think of a future in tourism. Looking after guests seemed attractive when compared to milking cows by hand and carrying cream 15kms to Kerry on pack-horses.
The location of the project, meant transporting building material to a mountain top 15km from the nearest road. Horses dragged an engine up the Stockyard Creek Track to drive a sawmill to cut timber for the new building. Packhorses carried in roofing iron, windows, furniture and even a stove that was pulled apart and taken up in pieces.
When eventually the Guesthouse opened its doors the O'Reilly sisters Molly, Rose and Ann were a vital part of its operation. The guests were a hardy lot in those early days. It took two long days to travel from Brisbane. The journey entailed a train trip to Beaudesert followed by three hours travel in the Kerry Coach. After an over-night stay at the Kerry Hotel, a member of the O'Reilly family would meet them with horses for the 25kms ride up the Stockyard Creek Track to the Guesthouse, the journey being completed after dark.
The road from Canungra was constructed by Laheys Ltd in the mid 1930s. They operated a large sawmill in Canungra and constructed the road to access valuable stands of hoop pine. Lahey's road ended 6km from O'Reilly's so the family cut a horse track along the top of the ridge to connect with it.
The spot where they met was known as 'The Dump'. People, luggage and supplies were dumped there when the service car arrived to complete the journey on horses. This winding horse track was widened to become a road in 1947. After 36 years the O'Reillys had a road to their front door - the gallant horses could have a spell at last.
O'Reilly's Retreat has been a family owned and operated business since first opening in 1926. After devoting over 40 years to the business, the second generation family members retired in the late 1990's, and so charged the third generation with the responsibility of carrying on the business into the new millennium.
As well as O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, the family also owns and operates O'Reilly's Canungra Valley Vineyards. The Vineyard Homestead is a fine example of early Queensland architecture and was built in 1858 by the Devine family in Warwick. It was moved to its present position in 1989. The house was cut into three pieces, and lifted onto the back of trucks. Over twelve power lines needed to be moved and many tree limbs lopped to accommodate the size of the house as it travelled to Canungra.
It was closed up for many years, and then Shane O'Reilly saw it and fell in love with it. He was looking for a good excuse to buy it, when several of his friends suggested that Canungra would be a good spot for growing grapes. That was all the encouragement he needed, and his vision for growing quality wine grapes in Canungra has certainly paid off. Many hours of restoration and care went into bringing the house back to its former glory. Many of the antiques you see in the house today were originally in the house, and have also been restored.
The vines were planted in September 1997 by a team of volunteeers from the local community, many of whom returned in the summer of 2000 to harvest our first vintage of Semillon and Chambourcin. It wasn't long before the rewards of Shane's vision and all that hard work were forthcoming, with a silver medal awarded for the aptly named Shane O'Reilly Reserve Shiraz 2000 at the 2002 San Francisco International Wineshow followed up with a gold for the Shiraz 2001 and a silver for the Viola O'Reilly Reserve Cabernet 2001 at the same show in 2003. The 2004 and 2005 San Francisco Wine judges were similarly impressed by the 2002 and 2003 vintages as well.
Excellence in hospitality and internationally awarded wines bearing the O'Reilly name; what would Tom, Norb, Herb, Mick, Pete Pat, Luke and Joe make of all this more than 90 years after their first ascent of the McPherson Ranges?
To find out more, hop on to the O'Reilly's website
