In 1884 the first Beechmont Hotel was built by W. H. Turner to service the timber getters and bullock drivers working the Numinbah Valley. It was located on the corner of Numinbah Road and a bullocky track from Beechmont known as the Black Shoot. Over twenty years later in 1905, Ernest Bellis took over operations of the hotel.
In 1918 Ernest changed the hotel’s name to the Advancetown Hotel and as a result, provided the name for the surrounding settlement. He sold the hotel in March 1924.
Under the new ownership of Mr A. E. Giles, in July 1933, a fire occurred while Mrs Free, the licensee was away. There was no firefighting equipment available for the timber building and the 11 room building was destroyed. Though no lives were lost, nothing was saved. Another hotel was built on the site and opened in February 1934.
It was this hotel that was eventually covered by the waters of the Hinze Dam in 1977. A new Advancetown Hotel was established on higher ground closer to Nerang on the Nerang – Numinbah Valley Road.
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- Part of the recreation area of Hinze Dam Advancetown, March 1981. Photographer Fred Saxon
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- The Advancetown Hotel, Advancetown. Photographer unknown
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- People on the steps of the Advancetown Hotel, circa 1920s. Photographer unknown
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- Pioneer slab hut at the Advancetown Hotel, circa 1965. Photographer Margaret McDonald
Sources of information and further reading
- Longhurst, Robert. Nerang Shire: a history to 1949. Nerang: Albert Shire Council, 1994.
- Albert Shire Suburb History. Manuscript held at the City of Gold Coast Local Studies Library.
- “Advancetown Hotel Fire.” South Coast Bulletin, (Southport, Qld.) 14 Jul 1933, p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133769756
- “Southport and Beechmont.” The Brisbane Courier, (Brisbane, Qld.) 2 Nov 1925, p. 13. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20973835
- “Advancetown Hotel.” South Coast Bulletin, (Southport, Qld.) 23 Feb 1934, p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133769394
