View a selection of the videos that showcase the Scenic Rim Region.
Eastern Scenic Rim
Click here for Tamborine Mountain
Click here for Canungra
Click here for Beechmont
Canungra, Lamington and Beechmont
THE region’s east began life as a series of small communities, established to support the rural industries which were developing around them. Over some of the years the industries may have flourished, peaked and declined, but all of these towns have blossomed and matured, while retaining their original small-town charm.
Canungra
THE village settlement of Canungra evolved around the 1880s, when the Lahey family established its Lahey Bros Sawmill. The Lahey family also built the Bellissima Guest House, named after the ship which brought them to Australia from Ireland, on the site which is now home to the historic Canungra pub.
The historic Lahey Tramway tunnel, cut through sandstone and used to carry timber from the hills to the township, is still in place and is popular with visitors.
Canungra is a busy weekend stop-off point for motorcyclists, hang-gliders and walkers, and is the gateway to the Lamington National Park and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, Villas and Lost World Spa.
The legendary hospitality of the O’Reilly family, who have been welcoming guests since 1926, continues.
Have a picnic by the Canungra Creek, perhaps you’ll see a platypus. Visit one of the town’s boutique wineries, take in a local gallery, or enjoy a cool pint at the family-friendly pub.
For more information on Canungra and its heritage, click here.
Beechmont
JUST outside Canungra is the turnoff for Beechmont and Binna Burra. This country road meanders up the mountainside, through tunnels of trees to deliver you to the lush, green pastures of the Beechmont mountain top.
For years Beechmont was home to a thriving dairy industry, and cows roamed the hillsides feasting on juicy meadows. Over time dairying has given way to a new community of people seeking refuge from the fast-pace of city life.
This close-knit creative community takes its lead from past generations, neighbours help neighbours, self sufficiency is celebrated, nature is protected and respected.
Ten kilometres from the quaint Beechmont Hall is the Binna Burra Mountain Lodge, created in the 1930s by author and adventurer Arthur Groom and his unlikely business partner, engineer Romeo Lahey.
These amazing men, while intrinsically different in their approach, shared a passion for the environment and knew that the natural beauty of Binna Burra must be protected for future generations to enjoy. Their incredible efforts and sacrifices led to the declaration of the Lamington National Park and the retention of this pristine environment in its true form.
For more information on Beechmont and its heritage, click here.
Our People
Five generations of the McKenzie Clan
SINCE the McKenzie family first selected their Beechmont dairy farm in the 1890s a lot of milk has gone through the front gate. Greg and Wendy McKenzie are the fourth generation to run the 97-hectare farm, helped by son and fifth generation McKenzie, Dan.
Greg’s mum Phyllis, 83, still lives on the property in the same house she’s lived in all her married life. Phyllis had five children and now has 14 great grandchildren. The McKenzies have trouble finding a venue big enough for family get-togethers.
Farm tours for tourists are becoming popular and Greg suspects tourism may be the key to remaining viable for future generations
While you’re here
- Enjoy wine tasting or lunch at a local winery
- Walk the Lahey historic Tramway
- Picnic by the Canungra Creek
- Revel in the diversity of the flora and fauna (we are a bird watcher’s paradise)
- Trek through the magnificent Lamington National Park – there’s one to suit most abilities, including a tip-toe through the tops at O’Reilly’s
- Browse the local country markets, or make your fresh purchase at the farmgate
- Revitalise with a spa experience
- Stay in a welcoming mountain guesthouse, villa, lodge or B&B
- Celebrate the vastness, the expansiveness, of some of Australia’s best mountain vistas
- Immerse yourself in some of the most extensive subtropical rainforest in the world
- Soar like a bird around the mountains… aerosports such as hand-gliding and para-gliding are very popular
For information on Tamborine Mountain, click here.
For the latest Scenic Rim tourism brochure PDF, click here. or
Phone 1300 881 164 to request a copy of the new Scenic Rim tourism brochure to be posted or
Email your brochure request with your name and mailing address to: tourism@scenicrim.qld.gov.au
We have also just released a Scenic Rim DVD click here to view
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