A WALK through Tamborine Mountain Heritage Centre provides a window to the mountain’s pioneering past.
A past that was built on farming and religion and the fortitude of those who made their way up the mountain and to create enduring legacies.
The Heritage Centre was established in 1981 with an aim of preventing loss of memorabilia from the mountain and to list and index material collected.
That same year Mr and Mrs Henry Bishopp bought the old Presbyterian Church at Eagle Heights and donated it to the Tamborine Mountain Historical Society.
The 1926 historic church now makes up one of the large buildings at the centre, showcasing an array of clothes, tools and other memorabilia from a bygone era.
The Heritage Centre, which is open every Sunday and on public holidays as well as for group tours by appointment, is maintained by a group of around 80 dedicated volunteers from the Tamborine Mountain Historical Society.
Ninety-nine-year-old Allan Rosser is the Society’s patron and the longest volunteer.
Many of the volunteers are descendants of the original families from the mountain, including vice president, Muriel Shepherd, who has been a member for 22 years and whose great grandparents were Bartles.
Each week they come together to tend to the displays, buildings and historical items.
The displays are changed regularly, and donations continue to flow in. Recently a unique highchair from the late 1800s was brought in.
One of the oldest and most unique pieces on display is the suit and dress worn by the local member for Musgrave, William Bligh O’Connell and his wife Emily Rosalie to the opening of the federation of parliament in Melbourne in 1901.
“It’s our history. The first settlers came in 1875,” Muriel said.
“And it’s the heritage of not only the mountain, but Australia,” volunteer Jan Bates added.
“You come in here and walk into the past.”
“A lot of people come in to research the land they live on. It’s always a pleasure if we can help them out,” Muriel said.
“The early settlers had to clear the land. They slept in tents and cut the trees to build the houses.
“It’s important to preserve our history and the challenges the first settlers had. They had no electricity for a long time. They had to light the fire to cook and dry their clothes.”
“They were farmers, both dairy and flower, and later fruit and vegetables.
“They all supported each other. There was a great camaraderie which is lost today.
The current exhibition features Hilda Geissmann, a naturalist, who was world renowned for her discovery of orchids and plants in the late 1900s.
She was an adventurer and her passion for plants saw her name many orchids and plants.
