Lathams News: `ONLY A COUPLE MORE SLEEPS...

It has been a little strange this year to have spent most of the Christmas break at home...

Normally we go away and spend time with the Grandchildren, but this year the children wanted to use our holiday house to have a family holiday before we came down. Now that we are retired, it means we can go down whenever we like and not limit our time to school holidays only...

It also means that having the house available lets our kids have a cheap family holiday so we are more than happy for them to use the house to create these wonderful memories with their kids...

They have had a wonderful time exploring the Sunny Coast, enjoying visits to castles, national parks, mazes, the beach, movies and generally creating wonderful memories...

Only two more sleeps until we join them... We are keeping the children for an extra week so that we can enjoy some time with them and it will give Sarah a chance to get some jobs done at home and get the children ready for school without them being under her feet..


She even managed to catch a fish on her new rod when they went fishing...

They enjoyed a visit to Bellingham Maze which is one of the regions popular attractions for both the tourists and locals alike.

It has an incredible 80m x 80m living hedge maze, timber maze, rope maze, tyre maze, mini golf and many other brain challenging puzzles, and is a great destination for those that enjoy the outdoors, love a challenge and also for those that simply enjoy wandering through the gardens or looking for a relaxing destination to sit and enjoy great coffee and excellent food amongst the trees and birds in their Maze Cafe.

Enjoying an ice-cream after finding their way out of the mazes...

One of the other places they really enjoyed visiting was the Sunshine Castle at Bli Bli... Originally a local Scottish couple built the Castle in 1972 to house eight original Fairytale Diaramas and some dolls. Meanwhile the Castle has grown and has had three freehold owners over that time.

It first opened as a Fairytale Castle, but was later known as the Bli Bli Castle. Originally, the Castle was located on David Low Way, back then the only way to get North from Brisbane. As a result, it was able to attract a magnificent 1 million visitors in its first 3 years of trading.

After much searching in 1971, Ian and Marcia Hayne purchased land in Bli Bli, which is the center of the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.They chose the location because of its hard granite foundation on a knoll overlooking the Maroochy River and the surrounding cane fields.

In 1972 work was commenced to build a normal, medieval style Castle. Its first stage was completed and opened in March 1973.

Two years later the Great Hall and Moat were completed with it’s display of medieval armour, which came from England, Germany, Spain and Italy.

In 1978, the Great Tower building was erected in stages in conjunction with an expansion of the souvenir shop, and Tudor facade on the shop front. The 3rd of May 1980, the new tower building was opened to the public.

In July 1984 the owner changed. Sandy MacKenzie, his wife Joan and Kevin Tuckwell purchased the Castle. Their plan was to enclose and include the house, situated alongside the Castle into the Castle complex. Work began almost immediately.

Furthermore the courtyard was also enclosed. Whereas the downstairs area of the house used to introduce a Tea Room and increase the shop area. This was opened in time for Christmas 1984.

Bli Bli Castle was born and enjoyed its heyday for much of the 80’s and 90’s as a Doll museum, which still had Fairytales on display. Sewed by the Lady of the house, the Dancing Dolls in National Costumes were added.

In 2002 Bernd and Margret Benecke acquired the Castle and began with major additions and alterations. The freehold owner’s vision of a family run business became reality when Birte Benecke-Uhrig and Stephan Uhrig moved from Europe to Australia to run the business with their company S&B Uhrig Pty Ltd in 2006. Soon Bli Bli Castle got renamed to Sunshine Castle.

Castle security was improved by adding a front wall and gate, complete with four watch towers. A whole new entertainment genre began with a new enclosed courtyard area. Improved toilet facilities, a commercial kitchen and a Queensland Liquor License followed over the years which allowed for the catering of larger functions, weddings and corporate events. The function of the Great Hall as a pure exhibition area was also altered and the floor area was cleared of displays to make room for the Kings and Queens thrones and tables and chairs for a feasting area.

More and more medieval displays were added over time. In 2013, due to the Castle’s 40th anniversary a History Shields Tour launched. Nowadays visitors get easy access to more information about the medieval era by enhancing the educational value of the self-walk tour. The Doll Museum was partially replaced by interactive armour displays and other medieval exhibits. But despite taking a new focus, the Castle management continues to preserve sections of the dolls as an important part of the Castle heritage.