Bowen River Hotel is a heritage-listed

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

at Strathbowen-Leichhardt Range Road,

Mount Wyatt The Rawson Mountains lie within the Queen Maud Mountains to the southeast of the Ross Ice Shelf. They stand between the head of the Amundsen and Scott Glaciers. Peaks within the range include Mount Wyatt (2930 m) and Mount Weaver (2780 m). Feat ...

Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local government ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It was built . It is also known as Heidelberg Inn. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

Phillip Sommer and his partner John Harvey pioneered the area in 1862. They established a sheep and cattle run on Heidelberg, a selection of ninety five square miles taken up by James Mead in 1861 but never stocked. Sommer had moved to Dotswood Station north of Charters Towers by 1866 and the Bowen River Hotel was operating from his Heidelberg homestead by 1865 with George Burnes as publican. It was constructed on the supply route to Central Western Queensland which passed through the Kennedy District. Licensing information from the

Port Denison Times The ''Port Denison Times'' was a weekly newspaper published in Bowen, Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , ...

indicates that it was probably one of two hotels built at much the same time in the same area. An inn called the Heidelberg was built at "the lower crossing place" while the Bowen River Hotel was constructed higher up on top of the steep bank of the Bowen River. The building was donated to the National Trust of Queensland in 1974 by Ted Cunningham of

Strathmore Station Strathmore Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Queensland. The station is the largest single pastoral lease in the state. Geography The property is situated approximately north east of Croydon and east of No ...

and restoration of the rear wing was carried out by Mr George Stewart at that time. The structure was left exposed to vandals and campers for many years from the 1970s. The building was renovated and reopened in 2003, and as of 2016 remains an operating hotel. A book about the hotel, ''The Bowen River Saga: The Story of the Bowen River Hotel'', was published by the Bowen Historical Society in 1973.

Description

The Bowen River Hotel was built in the 1860s from local timber and originally roofed with bark. It comprises two buildings connected by a covered walkway, and is an example of careful bush carpentry and skilled jointing fixed with wooden pegs. The complex comprises two buildings connected by a covered walkway. A verandah extends round three sides of the main building, while a small verandah opens off the main room on the northern corner of the second and smaller structure. Both buildings are raised on low stumps, some of which have ant caps, and flooring laid on a rough timber frame, rather than an earthen floor. It would appear to be an early example of this technique. Horizontal slabs of split timber have been used to construct the walls and the hipped roof and skillions over the verandahs are of corrugated iron. A post and rail fence encloses what was once the front yard of the hotel. The building sits in a rural landscape with

white cedar White cedar may refer to several different trees: * Bignoniaceae ** ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' - native to Caribbean islands and also cultivated as an ornamental tree * Cupressaceae: ** ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' – Atlantic white cypress ** ''Cup ...

and Burdekin plum trees near the house and

oleanders ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the Monotypic taxon, only species currently clas ...

along the front fence.

Heritage listing

Bowen River Hotel was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. Its significance is enhanced because of its connection with the pastoral development of the Kennedy Region and Central Western Queensland. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. The building is one of very few surviving country hotels constructed using bush carpentry techniques. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The Bowen River Hotel is representative of a transitional type of timber construction which led to the development of a distinctive style of architecture in Queensland. The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period. The building is one of very few surviving country hotels constructed using bush carpentry techniques.

References

Attribution

External links