Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
Tamborine Village is a very unique kind of timeless. How does its rich history create this anachronistic haven?
Kyle Hitchmough
Part of the appeal of Tamborine Village is its relaxed atmosphere. Though you would be remiss to call it sleepy—there’s always activity for those who know where to look, from the regular fun to be had at the Bearded Dragon to the various pop-up events so regularly hosted— certainly part of its charm is the hassle-free lifestyle afforded by living out in the beautiful Australian countryside.
But it extends deeper than that. Tamborine’s unique energy extends beyond simple rustic charm. This village is something entirely unique, in that it’s a place where past can coexist alongside present. A town where you can walk alongside your own history.
A short trip down to the Tamborine Memorial Hall and its surroundings is the perfect illustration of what I’m talking about. Right next to this community centre is a building with a history all of its own. The sign on the front says it all: The ‘Little Schoolhouse’.
This building is something of a mystery. By all means it could have once been a part of one of Tamborine’s first schools: Tambourine Provisional School first opened in 1874, changing its name to Tambourine State School in 1909. There’s no spelling error here: the removal of the ‘u’ came in 1926. However, no direct link exists in any written records to be found—my research turned up a religious study group with a social media account that at the very least used to operate from the building, but their official website has long since vanished. Perhaps it’s one of those word-of-mouth community secrets that come with a close-knit village community.
Directly across the modest parking lot sits a small monument—a stone, sporting a plaque. This serves to commemorate a massive turning point in the history of Tamborine: the cancellation of the proposed Wolffdene Dam. Had this project gone through, everything we know and love about Tamborine would have been completely underwater. And yet here it all stands: the old alongside the new. Memories alongside potential.
Next to the Schoolhouse and across from this plaque is the Tamborine Memorial Hall. A poster board on the front of this community core is a forum for inter-village communication, the advertisement of jobs, services and upcoming events. It’s a bloodline of current community events, existing perfectly alongside history like the Wolffdene Dam monument—and of course, the ANZAC memorial right alongside.
I was taking the photographs for this article when a swath of individuals in BMWs pulled up behind me to organise some sort of ride event. I stood on the porch of a building older than I am with untold mysteries and stories to tell to watch a horde of brand new cars rev their engines—sandwiched perfectly between the past and the future, and I thought to myself: “This is what Tamborine means to me.”
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