How the Lion’s Den weathered the flood of Biblical proportions
After nearly being wiped off the map by ferocious waters of the Annan River the iconic Lion’s Den Hotel has undergone a $1m rebuild and is open for business.
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After nearly being wiped off the map by ferocious waters of the Annan River the iconic Lion’s Den Hotel has undergone a $1m rebuild and is open for business.
Demountable buildings were ripped from their foundations as water rose to the height of the ceiling following record flooding from Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December.
Shocked workers took refuge on the roof of the pub, located 30kms southwest of Cooktown, to later be flown to safety by maverick chopper pilot Brett ‘Magoo’ Little.
Given the scale of the disaster and lack of insurance Lion’s Den Hotel manager Darryl Paradise said he had long discussions with pub owner Judy Fry as to whether it was worth the money and effort to rebuild.
“When we looked and saw the state of the place and the amount of money to be spent it took a while to make up our mind but Judy said ‘No, I want to rebuild’,” he said.
“All our dongas got washed away and the big shed got washed away, it’s no easy run to replace it all.
“There is a lot of money and time and all the underground wring to be replaced, nothing was kept and we stripped everything out, it’s been a pretty big job.
“It was not a good show at all.
“But now we get people every day and can’t believe how far we have come to get the pub back into the state that it is today.”
After a million dollar spend to restore the pub to its former state, most facilities are back online but accommodation dongas are yet to be replaced.
Crews have been on site since early January 2024 working to get the Bloomfield Track back up to standard and from June 22 the road will reopen to the public.
Lion’s Den Hotel groundskeeper Craig ‘Prickles’ Thorn helped rescue 13 people from the roof of the hotel and was instrumental in the clean-up.
His car destroyed by the flood was replaced by pub owner Judy Fry and the 67-year-old has since taken off for dryer southern climes.
As the water receded, shell shocked workers were confronted by a huge clean-up operation and an unbelievable amount of mud that covered everything.
Slowly, the historic pub was cleaned up and by Australia Day celebrations on January 26 a pop up temporary bar was in operation. A new cool room followed, by April new safari tents were completed and last month Outback Spirit and APT tour buses returned to the venue.
More than 2970mm of rainfall fell at Rossville in the lead up to the flood with 885mm falling between 13-16 December, 1440mm on 17-18 December and 665mm on 19 December.
Rossville resident Gavin Dear shot to fame during the flood after taking a viral video of a bloke being rescued from high in a tree and stuck high in a tree.
He also introduced the nation to Far North legend Jonesy who despite standing in chest deep brown floodwater was unfazed by the disaster.
Mr Dear still has trouble shaking off the deluge of Biblical proportions but was glad of the track opening to connect Cape Tribulation and Bloomfield.
“The tourists have just started to come through, the Lion’s Den Hotel and accommodation in Bloomfield will be extremely happy,” he said.
“There was never expected it to be open this quickly.
“(The Lion’s Den) are back on track and the kitchen and bar only just opened, it’s perfect timing, the campground has fully opened.”
Originally published as How the Lion’s Den weathered the flood of Biblical proportions
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