My Holiday at Lamington 
by Herbert C. Knights

Herbert C. Knights travelled from Victoria in 1921, having heard about the remote and beautiful National Park in the Mc Pherson Ranges. He left from Brisbane on the morning of May 14th 1921; stating that "two days of travel lay before me".

The first leg of the journey was by train to Beaudesert, arriving in time for a late lunch.
Herbert was met at Beaudesert station by Herb O'reilly who was to drive the Kerry Coach to the hotel at Kerry. This coach was used to carry mail parcels and milk cans.....

The coach left Beaudesert at about 3.30 pm, and took about three and a half hours to reach Kerry. Herbert states "In cold, overcast weather the ride to Kerry was more novel than comfortable..."

Herbert was met at the Kerry Hotel by Tom O'reilly...

After staying the night in the hotel, Tom and Herbert rode to a farm "where pack horses awaited......"

Herbert continues... " Through open country we continued to the foot of the mountain. The Albert river, having being forded for the last time, we dismounted and enjoyed a simple lunch of bread, butter and bananas, washed down with cold river water".

"The track was now lined with large trees, festooned with vines......during the next hour or so I was to see many trees, vines and palm trees which were new to me."

"For a while we left the dense bush and rode through open forest and grass trees. Then began the ascent of a zig zag track, which had been blasted from the mountain by the O'Reillys. A splendid engineering feat!..."

"The track was steep and slippery, but the mountain bred horses found no difficulty in negotiating this. Nearing 3000 feet, it was colder and clouds drifted by. Little of the surrounding country or deep gorges could be seen. Maybe it was just as well that I couldn't see how steep was the drop from the track..."

"The worst part of the journey lay before us - dense bush through which a steep, muddy track lay...."

"Twelve miles from Kerry, we sighted the glimmer of a light coming from the hut on Moran's Creek. We had been riding for more than seven hours."

"I was soon made welcome by the O'Reillys. There was Rose, Ann, Bernard and Pete. A cosy fire and a good dinner had me feeling that this was going to be the best holiday ever. I was made to feel one of the family."

"Early to bed and early to rise, was the order of things here. It was wonderful to awaken to the calls of many birds - one needed no alarm clock."

"A short walk to Moran's Creek to wash in the icy cold water soon had one fully awake and ready for a hearty breakfast. I was the only guest, so wanted for nothing".

......"The hut was a dinkum 'pioneer hut' and was constructed of pit sawn timber slabs with an iron roof. There was a wide, wooden open chimney........ The windows had no glass. A shutter with leather strips to serve as hinges could be trapped open....".

"While out walking in the bush one day, I came across another hut, which belonged to Mick O'Reilly, and was used extensively by naturalists and bird lovers......."

"Returning, I lost my way. The tracks were not very well defined, and had been obliterated by the scratchings of birds and animals in search of food."

"Hearing axes falling on timber, I climbed the hillside, where I found Tom and Pete clearing dense timber and scrub. Pete was perched perched on a plank set into the tree trunk, about six feet above the ground...."

" I never tired of sitting alone for hours, admiring the beautiful vistas of valleys and mountains, and listening to many bird calls echoing in the gullies".

Finally, after a week of exploring the country side and enjoying the warm hospitalityof the O'Reillys...." My last day had arrived, and I busied myself packing samples of timbers, and other things which were presented to me by the O'reillys. After lunch I bade my friends goodbye, and with Bernard leading a pack horse, (this time laden with cans of cream) we started the journey to Kerry...'