In 1911, the O’Reilly men Pat, Luke and Joe and their cousins Tom, Herb, Ped, Norb and Mick arrived to take up their selections on Roberts Plateau. Their first access was via the timber tracks in Cainbable Gorge, a total of sixteen gruelling miles. When Lamington National Park was proclaimed, all remaining blocks were removed from sale, isolating them, with little prospect of the promised government road.
So, they built their own track, down the Stockyard Creek Gorge and out to Kerry Road, halving the distance. The first part was blasted out of a volcanic cliff. The track was completed and riding parties, fifty strong, would trail up on Sundays, returning with extravagant tales of the scenery. It is estimated that 13,528 packhorse trips were completed from 1913 to 1940. When dairying commenced, cream was separated by hand and carried at night by two packhorses to the cream stand on Kerry Road. Later the decision was made to build a guesthouse. Guests also arrived this way until the mid-1930s, when Lahey’s road from Canungra was completed.
A straggly date palm, growing at the intersection of Kerry and Stockyard Creek roads at Darlington, marks the site of a cream stand where local dairy farmers would leave their cream cans to be transported by horse drawn wagon to Beaudesert. It also served as a depot for ordered goods and mail which arrived from town along with the empty cream cans. Locals believe the seeds that produced this date palm were planted by ‘a hungry O’Reilly’ who raided the guesthouse groceries and buried the evidence.
As O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat marks 100 years of operation, a brief ceremony was held on March 27. It was an honour to have Mrs Lona O’Reilly unveil a plaque to mark the significance of this site.
