The Story behind the No Roof Motel

The view from the cherry picker the day after

As some of you may be aware, a small but devastating storm hit the top end of Stanthorpe on the 11th of November. The aftermath was damage to trees, some damage the the Showgrounds & nearby farms and our Motel being completey de-roofed. This has caused major damage to the motel resulting in the business closing until February or March. Thankfully the Steakhouse is untouched and is able to continue operating Tuesday – Saturday evenings.

The damaged bathroom ceiling in room 4

At 7pm, we were getting their little ones ready for bed when the power started to cut in and out.  While I calmed the children, Shaun went outside to see who was affected by the power outage.  Feeling a slight tingle in his feet, he realised there was a power line down in their driveway.  Heading out of danger, Shaun went around to the undercover car park to find that instead of receiving shelter from the rain, there was in fact no carport roof.  He then went to check on the guests they had in house.  Thankfully most of them were out for dinner however when Shaun checked their rooms, he realised the problem was bigger than he anticipated with water running down walls and through light & fan fittings.

Our roof found onto the nearby railway track

This was the moment, he realised there was no roof on the motel.  As he checked from room to room, he realised there was no roof on rooms one through to room 20.  Ergon were quick to the scene, ensuring the area was safe and the local SES were also on the scene within minutes with tarps to keep as much rain out of the building as possible.  The process was bigger then expected with an additional 2 crews joining in from Warwick, and the work continued well into the early hours of the morning.

As the sun rose, we were outside inspecting the damage.  The 40 metre tree outside had roof wrapped around it, almost to it’s top branches, while air conditioners scattered the back yard along with 3 metre high piles of roofing tin.  The roof was seen scattered on the railway line, the golf course, neighbours yards and even making it’s way to the end of Francis St.  And yet in our backyard the kids toys were untouched.  We are feeling so blessed that no-one was injured.  The damage was really contained to just the motel.  Thankfully our house and the Steakhouse has been untouched and also thankfully we are insured.

We would like to thank the SES immensely for their efforts.  Without them, the secondary damage would have been far worse. We are also thankful the Southern Downs Council who were on the scene first thing the next day to clear the debris in case of another storm.  It was no small job and we cannot thank them enough.

We really got a great sense of this wonderful community with all of the other business’ and families around town that have offered support to house our homeless guests, as well as offers of helping with the clean up.

Look out 2014! High St Motor Inn will be back bigger than ever. We look forward to sharing the details of the rebuild with you and thanks so much for your continued support….