QLD landmark with links to ‘Australia’s Titanic’ listed for sale
It is located on Townsville’s iconic Strand
A historic Queensland landmark linked to one of Australia’s worst maritime tragedies has been listed for sale.
Yongala Lodge by the Strand has hit the market for $3.95 million, with the sale including the historic homestead and motel accommodation buildings at the rear.
The Yongala Lodge homestead was built in 1884 as a private residence by Matthew Rooney, from the renowned Rooney mercantile and importing family.
Oregon pine was imported for much of its construction.
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Townsville’s historic Yongala Lodge, and the associated motel business, is for sale
Matthew Rooney, his wife and daughter were killed when the SS Yongala sank during a cyclone south of Townsville in 1911.
Picture of the SS Yongala.
Every one of the 122 passengers on board perished, with the location of the shipwreck remaining a mystery until 1958.
It is now a world-famous dive site.
SS Yongala is listed as a top 10 dive site in the world. Supplied.
The original Rooney family homestead, which is located on Fryer St in North Ward, one of Townsville’s most sought-after suburbs, was later converted into the Nestle Private Hospital (later known as Lister Private Hospital) in 1916, and then the Lister Flats after it was sold in 1926, according to the Queensland Heritage Register.
The homestead still has some wonderful traditional features
It became a boarding house in the 1960s, and was then sold again in the early 1980s, with the then owners restoring the homestead.
And has been used as an office and restaurant in recent times
The block of motel units was added in 1992.
The motel was added in 1992
The entire holding is being marketed for sale by Antonio Curulli of Tourism Brokers, with the listing saying a major renovation of the property, costing over $600,000, had now been completed.
The motel accommodation consists of two low-maintenance brick buildings with 10 apartments and nine rooms.
The pool is perfect for those balmy North Qld summer days
There is also a pool, which was built in 2014, and the historic house with its ocean views.
