Family favourite Binna Burra will build back even better from its burnt shell
The Queensland government has stumped up $18m in the state budget to replace the lodge at Binna Burra, in the Gold Coast hinterland.
There was a time when Steve Noakes and the team at Binna Burra thought it would never happen, that the job of rebuilding the beloved retreat in the World Heritage-listed Gondwana rainforest was simply too much.
But all that changed this week when the Queensland government stumped up $18m in the state budget to replace the “beating heart” of the internationally acclaimed attraction, the historic tallow wood lodge that was razed in the opening act of Australia’s devastating black summer bushfire season of 2019-20.
This is what will rise in its place: an angular three-level structure with 270-degree views of the ranges overlooking the Gold Coast hinterland, designed with a respectful nod to the destroyed building but built to withstand anything the volatile landscape might throw at it.
“The old lodge certainly had its charms, but the new one will be better and more sustainable in every sense,” said Mr Noakes, 66, the eco-tourism developer who chairs Binna Burra’s not-for-profit operating company. “It’s a much enhanced product now.”
Kate Lawrence, 43, of the Gold Coast, said her childhood love affair with the place had been taken up by husband Justin Johnson, 45, and their kids, Eden, 17, Kirra, 15, and Emily, 13. “It was such a special place … a gathering point for like-minded people,” she said.
The destruction of the 90-year-old building and adjoining accommodation cabins in September 2020 happened only months after the then insurer capped the bushfire liability at $3m, a fraction of the damage done when the compound went up. The lodge alone had previously been insured for $16m.
It took a year for the access road on the mountain to be fixed and some accommodation brought back. But until state Treasurer Cameron Dick came to the party, Mr Noakes was at a loss to say for sure how or when the centrepiece lodge would be replaced. “This was the game changer,” he said of Tuesday’s budget announcement.
If all goes to plan, the design will be finalised by October, tenders let and construction begun in early 2023.
Infrastructure consultant Tim Medhurst, whose architect brother Jonno drew up the plans, said it would conform to the footprint of the original building as a “like for like” replacement.
The concrete structure would be vastly more fire resistant, clad in stone and hardwood to evoke some of the character of the original lodge. But inside, the experience would be thoroughly modern, including lifts to provide disabled access sorely lacking in the old building.
The second-floor bar would be a place to catch up or rest after a hard day’s trekking before dinner in the 250-seat restaurant above. Ideally, this could have a retractable or glass ceiling to maximise views of the night sky, high on the wishlist of the shareholders whose input guided the design.
“People want the feeling of Binna Burra, the spirit of Binna Burra to come through in the new building,” said Mr Medhurst, 63, a regular of four decades’ standing. “So it’s got to be warm, inclusive, engaging … but built with modern materials to modern standards.”
When they say there is no other spot like this, there’s something to it. Binna Burra’s corporate structure is as unique as the stunning surrounds in Queensland’s Lamington National Park, the northern reach of the protected Gondwana rainforests dotted across 366,000ha between Brisbane and Newcastle.
While it is incorporated as an unlisted public company, the business functions like a co-operative, harking back to its establishment in the 1930s by bushwalking enthusiasts Romeo Lahey and Arthur Groom.
Shares are tightly held, often passed down within families from one generation to the next, and no single investor can hold more than 2 per cent of the stock.
Mr Dick told Mr Noakes he had holidayed at Binna Burra with his family and would do what he could to cut red tape. “It’s a place that was started by two families and it’s been a place for families ever since,” Mr Dick said.
Smartphone ban brings calm to classrooms
Smartphone and vaping bans in schools have been hailed for making students ‘better behaved’ and classrooms calmer.
NDIS to notch up $600m in savings
More than $600m has been shaved off the projected budget forecast for NDIS in the first seven months of the financial year despite almost 20,000 new participants joining the scheme in the past quarter alone.