The Grand Hotel has a long and rich history going back to the 1890s. For around 130 years, it has been a central part of Clermont’s story.

In the 1890s, the township of Clermont was expanding. A report on 30 July 1898 in The Capricornian showed civic pride in the town’s rapid growth: “It’s safe to say the number of buildings in Clermont has been nearly doubled within the last two years.”

The report went on: “To show that property owners here have faith in the future of the town…” The reporter mentions various improvements: “A new shop has been erected next [to] the Queens Hotel.” The report also mentions “Mr Niedermeyer’s Grand Hotel, occupying the farthest corner of the business blocks.” It referred to the hotel as “the best building in the town.”

In 1899, the hotel was burned to the ground. On 17 June that year, The Capricornian reported on a fire under the headline “Grand Hotel Destroyed.” The flames “illuminated the whole neighbourhood…. Scarcely an hour elapsed before the building completely fell in.”

The rebuilt Grand Hotel became a popular gathering spot for the Clermont community and was deeply engaged in local activities and sports.

The Capricornian newspaper noted on 29 June 1901 that “the members of the Rifle Club shot off the first round of the Grand Hotel trophy competition.”

On 29 August 1903, the paper reported on a local cycling race: “The road race promoted by the Bicycle Club came off this afternoon and excited much interest.” The course began from “Nielsen’s Grand Hotel.”

In its early years, Clermont was vulnerable to flooding. Originally established on low-lying ground next to a lagoon or billabong, flooding was always a problem, with the town experiencing four major floods between 1864 and 1916.

The flood in 1916 – which came to be known as “The Big Flood” – was devastating. In December 1916, a cyclone crossed the coast between Bowen and Mackay, causing heavy rain in the Wolfang Creek and Sandy Creek catchments. By midday on 28 December, the floodwater in Clermont had peaked at a height of 16 feet (4.8 metres).

Sixty-five people died in the tragedy from the town’s population of 1,500. Ten thousand head of livestock were lost, and fifty buildings were damaged.

On 10 January 1917, the Northern Star published a description of the flood, taken from the Brisbane Courier: “Now came the catastrophe which many of the older residents feared would occur when both creeks came down together. By half past six the water had just got over the level of the 1893 and 1896 floods, and from that time disasters fell with almost unimaginable rapidity on residents and property in the low-lying parts of the town.”

The decision was taken to relocate some of the surviving town buildings, including the Grand Hotel, to higher ground about one kilometre away from their original sites.

“To move a building, it was raised on jacks, and timber rails were placed underneath and in front of the building so it could then be winched along by a steam traction engine,” notes the Clermont Historical Centre’s research booklet.

The Clermont Historical Centre today displays the Aveling and Porter steam engine that was used to shift town buildings after the 1916 flood.

The Northern Herald on 31 January 1918 gave valuable detail on the hotel’s move. Under the headline “Moving Day at Clermont,” it said: “The Clermont flood made it necessary to effect many alterations in the layout of that town.” A series of photos “showed work in connection with the moving of Petersen’s Grand Hotel from its old site in Drummond Street to a new location in Capella Street, near the railway station.”

It went on: “The distance of removal was approximately three-quarters of a mile and the operations occupied about four weeks. The hotel was lifted intact off its blocks, placed on wooden rollers and hauled along by a traction engine. Everything was carried out successfully and the hotel now stands in its new location.”

The report noted the extraordinary image of the hotel keeping up service for its guests in an unusual way: “During moving operations business was carried out as usual and boarders were quite accustomed to look for their moving home in a different location each night.”

It closed with: “And so goes on the re-building and remodelling of Clermont.”

Today, The Grand Hotel offers pub-style accommodation along with a sports bar, gaming room, live music, on-site parking, and much more.

With the hotel’s sports bar complete with the only TAB in town, it’s the place to catch all the live sports and racing action in Clermont.