IF a building could reveal what went on under its roof then there would be some wonderful yarns coming from the Semloh Guesthouse on Tamborine Mountain.
That said you have missed out on experiencing the old guesthouse’s tales as the century old building was recently demolished at its site at the corner of Southport Avenue and Driscoll Lane.
Built in the early 1920’s by local builder Jim Holmes the home has served many purposes over the last 100 years.
From a family home, to a guesthouse, a Marist Brothers school and even to a home for an Order of Polish Monks the building has housed an interesting variety of guests.
The original home was extended when the Holmes family literally dragged part of the old Post Office from across the road in the 1930’s to sit alongside the house.
It was cleverly moved over the street on a large wooden platform mounted on logs.
Once it was in position close to the original home they constructed a building in the middle to link the two together.
For many years the home was used as a guesthouse and featured 10 bedrooms, many with a sink and tap in the corner.
When patrons started declining the Holmes family sold the guesthouse to the Marist Brothers in 1941 who like many educators moved their school facilities out of Brisbane city to the country areas during the war.
They continued to use it as a boarding school and assembled a number of other buildings on the site including a church until they sold it in 1964 to the Catholic Parish.
The church decided to lease the property out and for a number of years through the late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s it served as an accomodation venue again under the name Mountain Lodge Guest House.
Tamborine Mountain historian and author, Paul Lyons was one of the students who attended the Marist school and said once it closed he would often go back to class school reunions on the site.
Paul has written articles on the guesthouse in his two books, Mountain Memories and Eagle Heights Village.
Another interesting chapter in the history of the building occurred in 1987 when an Order of Polish Monks leased the premises under the name Monastery of St Paul the First Hermit.
They stayed for around seven years before moving to a property they had bought near Canungra.
The final residents
Guesthouse featured a ghostly presence
The final tenants of the Semloh Guesthouse were Paul and Helen Beelaerts who stayed for around seven years before it was sold in 2002.
The couple moved in after getting married at the old St John the Baptist Church on the same site.
Helen still has found memories of the old guesthouse saying they enjoyed many large family get-togethers there.
“We loved the home and we were sad to pack up and leave when the Parish sold it,” she said.
“During our time we also encountered what we believed was a spirit moving about the house.
“It was a small dark shadow that I only saw once, but Paul noticed it many times going from one particular room down the hall to the southern end of the house.
“It didn’t concern us, we decided it was a friendly ghost.”
Helen and Paul weren’t the only ones who claimed a spirit resided at Semloh.
She said a family while visiting the monks noticed their young daughter was talking to someone despite the fact there was no-one there.
When asked who she was talking to she said it was a young boy.
Helen said it was sad to see Semloh crumble over the years to a state where it was beyond saving.
