Arthur Groom Print Page

The monument commemorates Arthur Groom (11 December 1904 – 14 November 1953) for his love and understanding of the bush.  Arthur Groom was an Australian writer, conservationist, journalist and photographer.

In 1930 he became the first honorary secretary of the National Parks Association of Queensland and was active in the promotion of national parks and environmental protection until his death. With Romeo Lahey, he established Binna Burra Lodge on the edge of the Lamington National Park, in southeast Queensland, in 1933. Together they formed Queensland Holiday Resorts Ltd, a company which offered shares to anyone who was interested. The initial offering attracted small donations – times were tough and the world was in an international depression. In order to generate more interest Arthur and Romeo organised a month-long holiday camp atop Binna Burra in December 1933. Meals and tents were included in the offer. Directors of the company decided if the idea was well received the venture had a future. Response was immediate and the 40 available places were booked out in days, prompting the directors to raise the number of places to 80.

Groom was an excellent outdoor photographer and, during World War II, lectured on survival in the jungle to the 50,000 Australian and American troops who passed through the Canungra jungle training centre. He continued to write, but abandoned fiction. One Mountain After Another (1949) told the story of the border-survey between New South Wales and Queensland, and of Lamington Park and Binna Burra, and pleaded for protection of 'The Scenic Rim' as he called a proposed reserve along McPherson Range and the Great Dividing Range.

A meeting, sponsored by the Queensland Parks Association and the Queensland Holiday Resorts Company, was held on the 11th May 1954 to discuss the erection of a memorial to the late Arthur Groom, nature lover and author, who spent the last 28 years of his life making Lamington National Park accessible to thousands of people.
Sunday Mail, 11th April 1954.

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