The 109-year-old Yungaburra Hotel in northern Queensland is a grand remnant of the Atherton Tableland’s timber-cutting days.
Story and photos Ken Eastwood
Enter the sprawling, heritage-listed Yungaburra Hotel in northern Queensland and you’ll notice the extensive, beautiful timber work dating back over a century. The top of the main bar is all rainforest species – red cedar, silky oak, maple and white beech. There’s silky and tulip oak built into the features, ceilings more than 18-foot (4 metres) high, and floorboards upstairs of original ash. Even the rafters are western red cedar and water gum. Sure, there’s paint peeling in a few places, but this is one grand old lady sitting in the highlands above Cairns. She boasts a former dance hall, now loungeroom with fireplace used in the frosty months, a beautiful timber stairwell, leadlight windows and a timber phone box. The renovated kitchen still features the original giant cast-iron wood-fired Metters range oven.
This story excerpt is from Issue #125
Outback Magazine: June/July 2019
