Our History

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Our History

The O’Reilly family pioneered ecotourism in Australia when they began hosting visitors in Lamington National Park in 1915 and later charging for this service in 1926. In these days, the former O’Reilly’s “Guest House” and slab huts took nature lovers two days via car, train and horseback.

Over the past 98 years O’Reilly’s has earned its well‐respected reputation as being an exceptional property with quality experiences and customer service that offers guests value for money. Guests thrive on learning about the history and heritage of the Australian O’Reilly family including Stinson plane discoverer Bernard O’Reilly. Guests enjoy meeting second, third and fourth generation family members during their stay; this unique family involvement is passionately promoted; plus has been the popular subject of several books and movies.

The O’Reilly’s brand philosophy is to offer every guest “green” experiences whilst the company’s core operational values strongly support the history, heritage and education of the surrounding Lamington National Park.

The Park celebrated 100 years since gazetted in 2015 with the acknowledgement of Mick O’Reilly (Born 1893, Died 1979) as Queensland’s first paid park ranger. This philosophy is strongly embedded within the design, construction and daily operations and sustainability ethos of the entire property.

The third generation of O’Reilly family now enjoys this responsibility of managing the Retreat, Vineyard, and Villa precinct, and have continued the transition of this iconic business into become a multi‐faceted award-winning organisation.

Since 1926 the O’Reilly family has been welcoming people from all over the world and have built a reputation for providing guests with genuine, caring and warm hospitality.

It is these family values that are the corner stone of the O’Reilly’s customer service philosophy and act as the guiding principles for all staff behavior to meet the company mission, ‘to make every guest feel special’. Here at the vineyard we also like to ‘celebrate the simple pleasures of life.’

A timeline of our vineyard history

1999

O’Reilly’s Vineyard is established

Carrying on the O’Reilly’s pioneering spirit, Shane saw the historic ‘Killowen’ homestead in the Canungra Valley and envisioned it surrounded with a boutique vineyard. After the purchase and refurbishment of the Homestead, vines were planted and the Shane’s vision was realized. After a lot of work and love from the surrounding community, O’Reilly’s opened the Vineyard.

2003

O’Reilly’s wins Gold at the San Francisco Wine Awards

 

On a sunny weekend in June, wine experts from around the U.S gathered in San Francisco to evaluate more than 3000 wines from around the world. Among them was O’Reilly’s signature Shiraz. Our Shiraz impressed the judges with its palate and richness, and came home with a Gold Medal from the prestigious international wine awards.

2012

Heavy Rain and Flooding damages the Vineyard

Early January 2012 saw heavy rainfall lash South-East Queensland. The heavy rainfall caused flash flooding and caused extensive damage to the vineyard with much of the Shiraz needing to be replanted. Thanks to plenty of support from both the local community and our valued members, O’Reilly’s managed to re-build the damaged vineyard.

2017

Mountview Alpaca Farm finds a new home at our Vineyard

After more flooding due to the arrival of Cyclone Debbie on Australia’s East Coast, Mountview Alpaca Farm found itself without a home after the road was closed to the top of the mountain along Lamington National Park Road. The Alpacas visited our Vineyard and remained a happy feature ever since with plenty of families enjoying a Creekside stroll with a furry friend.

2018

O’Reilly’s Vineyard wins Gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards

Returning to the Queensland Tourism Awards, O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards took home another Gold Medal after a triumphant 2017. The win capped off another year of hard work from the team to recover from cyclone Debbie.

2021

O’Reilly’s Vineyard builds a Deck for more outdoor seating.

A new deck featuring a ramp for easy access to our Cellar Door is added to the back of our Homestead to provide additional seating for all guests. Visitors are able to enjoy a cafe meal and relax outside in the fresh air.

2024

Christmas Storms damages our Homestead, forcing renovations

After extensive damage to our Vineyard and Homestead, O’Reilly’s invested in the business to reinvigorate and refresh our offerings. Guests will soon be able to enjoy new bathrooms, kitchen offerings, and a deck bar, along with a brand new roof on our homestead.