• Old Rainbow Hotel

  • The Rainbow Hotel was the largest of three hotels built on the main thoroughfare between Gladstone and Kroombit Station. Built in the early 1850’s, the hotel closed in 1902. It was run by the O'Reilly family and the graves of Catherine O'Reilly and her son Thomas (Junior) are on the site.

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  • Theme
    Buildings
    Time
    1900s
    Place
    Callide
    Tags
    Hotel Pioneer

  • Contributor

    Kilburnie Homestead logo
Black and white photograph of the ruins of the Rainbow Hotel. The image shows a long, single-storey slab building in a state of decay, with large holes in the walls. It is in the middle of a grassy paddock, with a hill in the background.
Background

The Rainbow Hotel was the largest of three hotels built on the main thoroughfare between Gladstone and Kroombit Station. Built in the early 1850’s, the hotel closed in 1902. A sad story, O’Reilly, the owner, had fenced off a small area close to the pub intended for the family plot. However, after his unexpected death, O’Reilly was buried in Gladstone; his wife and son later laid to rest in the twin graves on the site.  Unfortunately the original ruin of the Hotel itself was disturbed by the construction of a gas pipeline in 2013. It is now marked by interpretative signage and the restored graves of the O'Reillys that QGC (the gas company) instated as part of their restoration project.

News of the day

Central Telegraph News Item

Following the destruction of the ruins of the Rainbow Hotel in 2013, the local newspaper ran two articles detailing the efforts of local history enthusiasts and QGC (the gas company) to reinstate some of the site's history.

https://www.centraltelegraph.com.au/news/pipeline-work-impacts-on-site-of-historic-hotel/2069567/

https://www.centraltelegraph.com.au/news/Monument-erected/2343785/

Additional Image

This picture probably shows the remains of the large kitchen and chimney at one end of the Rainbow Hotel.

Black and white photograph showing the remains of a timber building with collapsing roof of timber shingles, and the ruins of a large chimney/fireplace at one end. Creepers have overgrown the roof and chimney.

 

 

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