Babinda Quarters, Media Release, 4 December 2023
After years of neglect, the glory days of Babinda’s historic nursing quarters have been returned with a new lease of life, transforming the Art Deco beauty into a popular guesthouse in the heart of nature’s playground.
Fresh from its latest, three-year restoration project, Babinda Quarters, which comprises eight artfully reprised guest and shared living rooms surrounded by tropical gardens, is open for business, and residents of Far North Queensland’s former sugar mill township couldn’t be happier.
Photos: Veronica Sagredo, Blueclick Photography
Before succumbing to cancer in 2020, Margaret (Maggie) Perpetua Nelson held the keys to Babinda Quarters and, from the time she purchased it in 2014, oversaw the derelict building’s transition from nursing accommodation to enchanting guesthouse.
Maggie loved saving old Art Deco buildings and, over four decades, converted some of Far North Queensland’s best examples into successful holiday accommodation businesses, starting with the conversion of an old hospital into Cairns Backpackers Inn along with Charleston House in North Cairns and the iconic Floriana guesthouse on Cairns Esplanade. Her passion stretched back to the seventies when she converted an old pink Art Deco garage on Sheridan Street (next to Rusty’s Market) into a furniture store.
In carrying on her mother’s tradition of bringing old buildings back to life, Maggie’s daughter, Kim Marsden, undertook the considered renovation of Babinda Quarters, reimagining it into a fresh iteration oozing creativity, character, and a good dose of quirk.
Kim said that in her time at the helm, she’s replaced five tiled bathrooms, repainted 16 of the 20 bedrooms, sanded and polished 13-bedroom floors and invested more than $1 million.
According to Kim, it is an ongoing project with plenty more to do with much of the costs associated with “under the bonnet expenses” involved in electrical and plumbing repairs.
“The next big challenge for me is painting the exterior, which is the first thing Mum did when she bought it years ago.”
Kim said her mother’s penchant for rescuing old buildings was matched only by her love of music and entertaining guests.
“This explains the Bernstein Baby Grand taking pride of place in Babinda Quarters’ main lounge – along with many musical instruments from drums to guitars and the odd ukulele,” said Kim.
In orchestrating the changes at Babinda Quarters, Kim said she aimed to create a guesthouse that offered an affordable and comfortable experience, much like staying in a friend’s house.
“It has been a careful balancing act from embracing the building’s age and adding a contemporary level of comfort. With crisp and colourful paintwork throughout, I have also renovated the bathrooms with contemporary fittings, albeit sympathetic to the Art Deco vernacular. A pale pink clawfoot bath and pale green tiles in the family room bathroom are a feature and case in point,” she said.
An artist herself, Kim has filled the rooms with stunning works by local artists, including pieces by Ed Koumans, Julie Poulson, Ricky Beresford, and ceramic artist Karen Charlebois Clay Designs.
With changes being applied gradually over the past three years, during which time the guesthouse continued to welcome guests, Kim’s creative flair and affinity for building restoration, along with her attentive brand of hospitality, has culminated in hundreds of rave reviews from visitors.
With a long history at the helm of an online travel business, Kim knows what guests are looking for and has applied this to Babinda Quarters, which attracts visitors from home and away and is particularly popular among Europeans.
“While most visitors are looking for a comfortable overnight stay, that tropical oasis from which to explore and experience the magic of Babinda’s misty rainforest mountains, rainforest walks and cooling waterfalls, we also offer a delicious element of surprise.
“From writers and hikers to travelling musicians and crew, birthday celebrations and family reunions, the Quarters have been a hit with visitors and a boost to Babinda’s tourism.
“The fun of it is often in the reaction I receive from guests, and you never know who’ll come. While we also get a lot of truckies, scientists looking for bugs and ex-nurses, we have had some notable guests including NRL great Wally Lewis and friends and some Hollywood peeps,” she said.
Babinda Quarters caters to individual travellers, families, and groups of up to 22 guests, a market Kim is keen to develop further. Prices start from just $140 per night. To book, visit Booking.com, and for more information, go to www.babindaquarters.com
Photos: Veronica Sagredo, Blueclick Photography
About Babinda
Babinda is a former sugar mill town beneath the tallest mountain in Queensland, Mount Bartle Frere – providing a misty rainforest backdrop to the restored Art Deco Babinda Quarters and picture theatre, along with a 50m public pool, bank, chemist, library, post office, supermarket, hospital, medical centre, heritage-listed pub, cafes, quirky shops, a waterski park and golf course run by volunteers.
Situated 40 km south of Cairns in Far North Queensland, Babinda is a quaint township in the heart of a World Heritage rainforest and a stepping-off point to discover nature’s playground. Babinda is home to rainforest walks, rockpools and waterfalls but is best known for its Babinda Boulders – a series of swimming holes where the water is cold year-round. It is only 6 km from Babinda township and has plenty of parking spaces.
