Landmark hotel sells at auction

Gympie’s Historic Railway Hotel has sold at auction, delighting Harcourts Real Estate principal Nathan O’Neill.

Contributed

GYMPIE'S historic Railway Hotel was sold under the hammer for $360,000 last weekend.

Built in 1915, the hotel is a focal point of Gympie's emerging tourism industry, linked by proximity to the Mary Valley Heritage Railway and historic railway station.

Nathan O'Neill from Harcourts said last weekend's auction was attended by about 80 people, with 10 properties up for auction.

He said there were four bidders for the hotel, including a phone bidder from Fraser Coast, with the successful bidder being a local investor who bought it for $360,000. He said it was his belief the new owner was going to keep the hotel as a going concern.

"We had 15 registered bidders and sold four properties under the hammer. We are negotiating three others," he said.

"People are starting to gain more confidence in the market and there is the possibility of another interest rate decrease.

"The average price for our in-room auctions was $240,000 and that's now $388,000.

"The average time for a property to be on the market is 120 days but 85% of properties that we put under the hammer have sold in 50 days or less."

The hotel has outstanding north-easterly views towards Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach, also overlooking the state heritage-listed train station connected via the original platform footbridge.

The property features 12-room accommodation, a main bar, commercial kitchen, restaurant to seat 60 with potential to seat 120, manager's residence, beer garden and ample parking. One of the reasons it was heritage listed was its "high degree of integrity and intactness".

"It remains important in illustrating the principal characteristics of a large timber hotel of the early 20th century. Earlier gas light pipes and fittings remain to the upper and lower rear verandas," the heritage criteria explained.

"The hotel occupies a prominent and easily accessible position in relation to the former Gympie Railway Station and for decades has offered accommodation to rail travellers and the provision of drink and food for visitors and locals, and the construction of the new Railway Hotel in 1915-1916 is associated with a period of significant growth in Gympie, during which services and facilities at Gympie Railway Station and precinct were expanded, closely linked to the increasing economic importance of the district's dairy and fruit industries."