Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
It’s hard to know where to begin talking about Grand Chameleon because of the many diverse things it offers to Tamborine Mountain. Multiple forms of beautiful and cozy accommodation; a reception center equipped to handle any of your events (and the widening list of their own); the historic Old Church, home to as many different activities as it has years of fascinating stories behind it; and the Memory Lane antique and vintage shop, a breathtaking journey through time contained in the walls of another classic building. Scott Howison, owner, is delighted to be our guide through all that Grand Chameleon has to share with us, as well as a few surprises of his own.
by Kyle Hitchmough
What was the inspiration behind Grand Chameleon?
Previously I had a transport business for 25-30 years that I had built from nothing into quite a good-sized business. One of my sons has bought it from me and he’s grown it a lot more than I did, leaps and bounds past me. Here I was thinking I was doing such a great job! I found that I didn’t really have a sense of community because I was always away and working. My drive behind opening this place was to establish a base where I could intermix with the community here. I like a lot of music, so musical people, other business owners, tourists… all of those things motivated me to get it. We call ourselves Grand Chameleon because we do a lot of different things and we are ever-changing.
Let’s talk about some of those things. You offer accommodation, correct?
There’s three lots of accommodation, including one of the original Queenslanders on the mountain, owned by one of the Curtis family. We have the upstairs and the downstairs, plus a freestanding cottage for couples.
And the main building is a reception center? What kind of events do you hold there?
Yes. Obviously, we do weddings, but we’re also doing some musical shows! We had a very famous blues player a little while ago when we had a blues night, it was very good… We’ve had the Andrews Sisters Tribute Band, there’s a variety of things that we do. We’re looking to have an Australian campfire experience on a Sunday night, and we serve Devonshire tea in the Old Church on a Sunday too.
Can you tell us more about the Old Church?
I believe it was first built in 1881 and was used for a variety of things, including as a Presbyterian church. Then eventually it was just sitting around and not being used for anything. Diane Morton arranged to move it up the mountain. For a long time, it was the number one place on the mountain to get married. It has awesome acoustics, too! I’m also an Elvis impersonator and a marriage celebrant, and in October I’m going to start doing vow renewals dressed as Elvis on a Saturday! I get to dress up like Elvis and sing a few Elvis songs, it’s just fantastic.
And you also have the antique shop, Memory Lane?
The brand name ‘Memory Lane’ was also established by Diane Morton on this site. It’s got a lot of history! We’ve moved it into the shed in the back of the property, it’s at least 100-150 years old. A lot of couples love that old barn style for their wedding photos.
Where do you source the antiques?
Susie and I have been collectors over the years. We run a vintage shop as well, and Susie’s daughter loves vintage clothing. She buys it around in Victoria and sends it up. We run the shop to give diversity to our site, to give people something else to look at.
What would you say is the main draw out of everything?
We hope that in the long run, the weddings will be but we’d be happy to have a small amount of weddings regularly and then some dinners and shows. For the Grand Chameleon, it’s a bit of a mixture of events, tourism, weddings, parties, special days. We also have a tour bus and our intention is to use that to bring people to our venue. Our interest is in doing things that are complimentary and not competitive with other businesses on the mountain.
What goes into the average day here for you?
There’s a little bit of rearranging that goes on with the site, setting up the rooms… The main room has six doorways into it and, with the curtaining all the way around, we can change the look and feel of the room, mix the whole space up. Lots of planning for the next events!
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area and community?
I live in the village, though Susie and I were married here last November in our own church, which was great! We spend a lot of nights up here, so we’re kind of like locals! I like it here, I think it’s beautiful. I was born in Katoomba and raised in Wentworth Falls in NSW. Mount Tamborine has a similar feel to me. It has that nice mountain breeze, that freshness about it, and it’s somewhere people can go to get away.
What do you think Grand Chameleon really provides to the area?
I think it provides diversity, somewhere that’s a really nice facility that can cater for a lot of different events. It’s offering a lot of things that aren’t on the mountain now, a place of interest with a strong musical focus and desire to create small intimate spaces. We call ourselves Grand Chameleon because we want to do grand experiences and do them well. We’re a little different and we like that!
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
I love the diversity of it, the opportunity to do different things. I enjoy mixing with other musicians and interacting with locals. I’m starting to do more of the things that drove me to buy it and I enjoy that.
What’s been your most memorable moment in your time here so far?
Well, of course, my own wedding in November! We’ve had a couple of really nice weddings that I’ve done the MCing for. I like that because you get an opportunity to share people’s most intimate moments with them. That’s really quite rewarding. We had an Australia weekend musical show which I thoroughly enjoyed. We had a full room for it, and we got a standing ovation at the end. Everybody really enjoyed it! That was a stand-out event to me, it was a lot of fun.
Grand Chameleon
www.grandc.com.au
216-222 Long Rd, Tamborine Mountain QLD 4272
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, send your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
