Background to . . .

After 20 years living in Brisbane seeing their eight children through school, Pat and Graham Hardy began planning their new mountain home at Springbrook in the early 1990s.

Up until then the present cottage 'Noonameena' had been the family's official Springbrook holiday and weekend retreat with generations of family and friends taking advantage of the mountain getaway.
'Noonameena', a former dam workers' construction hut was purchased by Graham and re-assembled at Springbrook the 1960s. It's a simple comfortable timber home with two bedrooms, sunroom, lounge, kitchen and shady verandah. 

A site for the new home was chosen and building began in early 1995. Later that year the keys were handed over. Graham then busied himself with landscaping and establishing a lawn and garden which today blends into the natural surroundings.

"We planned for a big home for our eight children and their families to come and visit," says Pat.
"The first couple of years up here were hectic and we found ourselves travelling a lot.  We had also stayed in bed and breakfasts during a holiday in Canada and in Ireland before moving to the mountain and loved it.

Gradually the two came together and they realised that perhaps they should open the house as a bed and breakfast.

All the approvals were then sought and granted. Returning to the Mountain was a significant moment for  Pat and Graham. Graham had last used Springbrook as his permanent address in the early 1950s before he had gone west as a wool classer and then to the Territory of Papua New Guinea as a Patrol Officer. His parents, Greg (son of original pioneer James Hardy) and Eileen Hardy, dairy farmed on Springbrook until the 1970s.

Graham attended primary school (as did his father) at the original one-teacher school which is now the National Parks information centre a short stroll from Hardy House

While he was away, Springbrook and 'Noonameena' became the holiday destination for the growing Hardy clan whenever they took leave from the tropics.
"You could say I've come home," says Graham, "but, for that matter Springbrook has always been 'home' to me where ever I've lived."

The lush foliage surrounding Hardy House is testament to the high rainfall Springbrook experiences and the rich volcanic soils in which almost anything will grow.
"Where the house stands was once a cleared paddock and we grew potatoes here," he says.
As a guest, there's a good chance your breakfast omlette will be enhanced by the herbs from the Hardy House garden.

Springbrook today is very different from the farming community Graham left as a 20-year-old. Gone are the dairy farms, crops and many of the older families. Today a Springbrook community thrives and the natural beauty of the area continues to attract thousands of visitors each year.

"Springbrook is a place we want to share with others, and Hardy House is a place you can stay and begin to discover for yourself," adds Pat.

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