Engineers' Arms Hotel (former)

The 1889 Engineers Arms Hotel is the second hotel on this site. The first ‘Engineers Arms’ was built in 1870 for Thomas Dillane. The name of the hotel came from the nearby Walkers Engineering Works, which had opened in Maryborough in 1867 to supply the Gympie goldfields. Thomas Dillane died in 1877 and his wife Ann took over the licence. In 1889, she had a new two-storey brick hotel built on the site, designed by local architect Samuel Bragg and built by Mr Caldwell. Two single-storey brick cottages were built concurrently at the rear. In April 1942, the cellar was further excavated, creating an air raid shelter. The hotel licence was not renewed in 1951. The Licensing Commission had initiated changes requiring a raise in standards of acceptable accommodation, and last drinks were served on 30 June 1951. By December 1951, the owner, Mrs Steindl, renovated the building, refreshed the paintwork and opened the top floor as the ‘Strand Boarding House’. The building has also operated as a restaurant, community centre, bed and breakfast and a gourmet food store. Local legend has it, the hotel is haunted by ghosts of the Dillane family, who suffered numerous tragic deaths, some in the rooms of the hotel.