A Century on the Mountain: The Story of O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
A Century of Stories on the Mountain
For more than 100 years, the O’Reilly family story has been woven into the rainforest, ridgelines and winding mountain roads of Lamington National Park.
In 1911, eight O’Reilly men arrived on what was then known as Green Mountains, deep in the McPherson Ranges. They had travelled north from the Blue Mountains in New South Wales to land that was wild, remote and thick with vegetation. Under the government regulations of the time, that rainforest had to be cleared, grassed and developed for dairy farming.
It was a hard beginning. A life built by hand, by horse, by weather, by track and by sheer determination. But it was also the beginning of something far greater than anyone could have imagined.
What started as a family’s attempt to make a living on the mountain would become a century-long story of hospitality, conservation, courage and connection — a story still unfolding today.
From dairy farms to rainforest hospitality
With no road access to the mountain, daily life demanded resilience. In 1914, the O’Reilly family constructed the steep and rugged Stockyard Creek Track down to the Kerry Valley, allowing cream to be taken out and supplies brought back in on horseback.
The following year, in 1915, Lamington National Park was officially proclaimed. The surrounding land was withdrawn from selection and protected as National Park, changing the future of the mountain forever. Farming would no longer expand as originally planned, but something else began to take shape.
Visitors started making their way up the Stockyard Creek Track to see the newly protected park. Some stayed in the early O’Reilly huts. Others came simply to experience the rainforest, the views and the mountain air.
The O’Reilly family, practical and welcoming by nature, began to see a new path forward.
In 1925, Tom O’Reilly began building the original Guesthouse. At Easter 1926, O’Reilly’s welcomed its first paying guests.
It was a humble beginning, but one built on a simple and enduring idea: share the mountain, welcome people warmly, and make them feel at home.
Almost 100 years later, that idea remains at the heart of O’Reilly’s.
A road, a rescue and a legend
Access to the mountain gradually improved. In 1935, a road from Canungra was constructed to the edge of the National Park, reducing the remaining distance to the Guesthouse to around six kilometres. The drop-off point became known as “The Dump”, a place where guests and supplies still had to continue the final stretch by other means.
Then, in 1937, O’Reilly’s became part of one of Australia’s great stories of bushcraft and courage.
A Stinson airliner travelling between Brisbane and Sydney disappeared in severe weather. After official search efforts failed, Bernard O’Reilly used his knowledge of the local terrain, listened carefully to reports from the valley, and set off into the McPherson Ranges.
He travelled through dense rainforest and eventually located the wreckage, finding two survivors who had spent ten days beside the crashed aircraft.
The Stinson rescue became a defining chapter in O’Reilly’s history — a story of instinct, endurance and deep knowledge of the land. It remains one of the most powerful examples of the family’s connection to the mountain.
Growing with the mountain
Through the decades that followed, O’Reilly’s continued to grow, slowly and steadily, always shaped by the realities of life in a remote rainforest environment.
The final track from The Dump to the Guesthouse was progressively gravelled in 1946. Green Mountain Store opened in 1951, later becoming what guests now know as the Mountain Café and Giftshop. In 1957, Vince and Peter O’Reilly became Directors, carrying the family business into a new generation.
In 1967, O’Reilly’s was connected to mains power — a milestone that transformed daily life for guests and staff alike.
The 1970s and 1980s brought a new era of growth. A major extension added reception and family rooms. The first O’Reilly’s Bird Week launched in 1978, becoming one of the retreat’s most treasured annual events and deepening O’Reilly’s reputation as a destination for bird lovers, naturalists and curious travellers.
Duck Creek 4WD Road was constructed in 1980, and in 1984 the Rainforest Room and O’Reilly’s first bar opened, creating a new place for guests to gather, relax and share stories after days spent exploring the rainforest.
But one of the most iconic moments in the O’Reilly’s story came in 1987.
Big Pete’s view from the canopy
The Tree Top Walk was completed in 1987, created and founded by Peter “Big Pete” O’Reilly.
It was a visionary idea: to allow guests to experience the rainforest not only from the forest floor, but from within the canopy itself. To walk among the trees. To feel the height and complexity of the rainforest from a new perspective. To understand, in a more immediate way, just how alive the forest is above eye level.
The Tree Top Walk became one of O’Reilly’s most iconic attractions and a defining symbol of rainforest ecotourism in Queensland.
Big Pete’s vision helped generations of guests encounter Lamington National Park differently. It invited people to slow down, look up, listen more closely and feel the wonder of the ancient forest around them.
His contribution remains one of O’Reilly’s great legacies — a gift to every guest who has stepped into the canopy and felt, even for a moment, completely surrounded by rainforest.
A retreat evolves
As the years passed, O’Reilly’s continued to evolve.
In 1994, Lamington National Park was inscribed as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, recognising the extraordinary ecological value and ancient evolutionary history of the landscape surrounding O’Reilly’s.
In 1999, O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards opened, extending the family’s hospitality beyond the mountain and into the valley. It brought a new food, wine and events experience to the O’Reilly’s story, while keeping strong ties to the broader Scenic Rim region.
The early 2000s brought more change. A major expansion introduced additional guest rooms, staff accommodation, the first pool and sauna. Vince and Lona’s, the second-generation family home, was transformed into two luxury guest suites, creating an intimate accommodation experience deeply connected to family history.
In 2005, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Guesthouse became O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat — a name that reflected how much the experience had grown.
By then, O’Reilly’s was no longer simply a guesthouse. It was a place for rainforest walks, guided experiences, food and wine, birding, wellness, weddings, conferences, family holidays and quiet personal escapes.
And yet, beneath all that growth, the spirit remained beautifully familiar.
Warm hospitality. Family heritage. A love of the mountain. A desire to make every guest feel special.
New ways to stay, slow down and reconnect
In 2007, the Mountain Villas precinct opened, introducing 48 self-contained villas and expanding the ways guests could stay at O’Reilly’s. The original Toolona accommodation, affectionately remembered by many family members and return guests as “Possums”, was converted into the Toolona Conference Centre.
In 2008, Lost World Spa and Conference Centre opened, adding dedicated wellness and conference experiences to the mountain. It marked another step in O’Reilly’s evolution — a place not only to explore the rainforest, but to restore, reflect and reconnect within it.
In 2012, the Moonlight Crag three-tier deck was unveiled, creating another spectacular place to pause and take in the surrounding landscape.
The milestones continued. In 2017, O’Reilly’s marked 80 years since Bernard O’Reilly found the lost Stinson aircraft, 40 years since the launch of Bird Week, and 30 years since Big Pete’s Tree Top Walk was completed.
Together, these anniversaries told the story of O’Reilly’s in three powerful ways: courage, nature and wonder.
Closer to nature
In 2020, O’Reilly’s Campground opened, introducing safari tents, campsites, powered sites and a community centre. It expanded the accommodation offering once again, giving guests a more relaxed, adventurous and closer-to-nature way to experience Lamington National Park.
Then came Pat’s Farm Chalets — a new chapter in the O’Reilly’s accommodation story.
Set within the wider O’Reilly’s landscape, Pat’s Farm introduced six secluded, off-grid eco-luxury chalets designed for privacy, sustainability and deep connection to place. With private heated plunge pools, fire pits, stargazing hammocks and sweeping hinterland views, Pat’s Farm offers a more intimate style of escape — one that blends indulgence with a lighter environmental footprint.
It is a thoughtful evolution of the O’Reilly’s experience: from the historic Guesthouse to the Mountain Villas, from the Campground to eco-luxury chalets, each offering a different way to connect with the land.
Every Pat’s Farm booking also contributes to the Green Mountains Natural History Fund, supporting the conservation, education and environmental legacy at the heart of O’Reilly’s.
100 years of welcoming guests
In 2026, O’Reilly’s celebrates 100 years since the Guesthouse first welcomed paying guests in 1926.
It is a milestone that honours far more than dates and buildings. It honours generations of family, staff, guides, naturalists, storytellers and returning guests. It honours the mountain roads, the walking tracks, the shared meals, the bird calls at dawn, the stories by the fire, the rainforest rain, the mist in the valleys and the feeling of arriving somewhere truly special.
The centenary celebrations include heritage displays, artefact installations, billy tea and damper experiences, guided Stockyard Track walks, guest offers and renewed storytelling across the retreat.
But more than anything, the centenary is a moment to reflect on what has remained constant.
For 100 years, O’Reilly’s has welcomed people to the mountain.
To rest, explore, reconnect , listen, learn, discover and to feel part of something bigger than themselves.
The next century
Today, O’Reilly’s continues to evolve, with a renewed focus on sustainability, accessibility, wellness, rainforest interpretation and meaningful guest experiences.
From humble dairy farms and early guest huts to eco-luxury chalets, guided walks, wellness retreats, birding events, rainforest adventures and World Heritage nature tourism, O’Reilly’s has grown in extraordinary ways.
And still, the heart of the place remains unchanged.
For almost a century, O’Reilly’s has invited guests to step away from the everyday and into the ancient green world of Lamington National Park.
Now, as it moves into its next century, the invitation remains the same:
Come up the mountain.
Breathe deeply.
Look closely.
Stay a while.
And feel part of our story.
