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Inside the beautiful reawakening of Sunshine Coast icon Halse Lodge

Yeong Sassall
28 Jan 2025
Clo Studios’ unique restoration of a heritage guest house in Noosa reaches deep into the town’s legacy to reflect the spirit and vivacity of Australian surf culture. Photographed by Tim Salisbury. Styled by Emma Bestek
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Most East Coast-holidaying Australians will have some memory of a scorching hot Queensland summer. The so-called Sunshine State has long been a favourite haunt for families looking to make the most of its famously beach-adjacent lifestyle and warm year-round temperatures. It’s these exact qualities that makes Noosa one of the most popular holiday spots in Queensland, loved for its pristine beaches, balmy climate, and the plethora of quality restaurants and cafés that line its bustling main drag, Hastings Street.

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If you were a holidaymaker visiting Noosa in the ’90s or early aughts, you may have chanced upon Halse Lodge, one of the town’s most iconic and storied landmarks. Originally built in the 1880s by Walter Hay, it was formerly known as Bayview, then extended in the 1920s and renamed Hillcrest Guest House. In 1959, the property was acquired by the Anglican Church and rechristened Halse Lodge, in honour of Archbishop Halse.

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During its church ownership years, the estate was used as lodgings for various school, church, fellowship and friendly society groups, until the ’90s when it was opened up to the general public as accommodation. It was this era that Noosa local, Chloe Tozer, remembers most fondly. “Growing up, Halse Lodge was the place!” exclaims the co-founder of styling and interior design mecca Clo Studios. “After a long, sundrenched day on Noosa Main Beach, my parents would drag us up to the lodge for a feed, a lemonade, and a game of ping pong.”

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In fact, the lodge holds many cherished memories for Tozer— being “the place where I had my first beer and ‘the local’ for my friendship circle and Noosa community,” she recalls. It also hosted key events on the Noosa calendar, like the Noosa Surf Festival and became known as “every local surfer’s barefoot backyard”. Eventually, like all relics of the past, Halse Lodge grew so rundown and tired, it was mostly inhabited by wildlife. “It was like Australia Zoo!” says Tozer. “For the past four years the bar and restaurant, the heart of the Lodge, have sat dormant and desperately due for an upgrade,” she continues. “The accommodation also needed a heartfelt transformation.”

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Embarking on the nine-month challenge of reviving such a cherished local institution took guts, but Tozer took none of it lightly, working alongside Clo Studios designer Emma Smith. “It’s not every day you get this kind of opportunity,” she says. “It was a true honour and a major career highlight to work on one of Noosa’s most iconic landmarks—perhaps even the oldest still standing.” Given full creative control of the project, Clo Studios worked keenly to spin its own design stamp on the restoration, while respecting the integrity of its heritage and place within the community. “We want our kids, and our kids’ kids to all grow up with the same memories we had there,” says Tozer. “It was important for the Halse Lodge team to invest in a quality renovation, so we used the best local team in the restoration process.” Another unintended upside to using local tradespeople? “It was amazing to hear the stories shared of the lodge during smoko,” smiles Tozer.

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While the restoration didn’t include any major structural changes to the Queenslander-style building, “all our works were passed through heritage architects, with the original details and authenticity at the heart of the entire process,” explains Tozer. Much of the work involved reparation, conservation and adding minor cosmetic improvements to guest rooms and main areas. Clo Studios worked closely with Tom Robilliard of T Casa Projects— “[Tom] and his team were the artisans in the restoration”, says Tozer. Together they revived the lodge’s most unique features, such as casement-stained glass windows, decorative fretwork and the large wrap-around verandah.

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Updating the rooms’ functionality and creature comforts up to 21st century standards was largely a simple process. Carpenters hand-built the bunk beds with an added cubby, and Tozer added pinstripe privacy curtains, plus new wall lights and charging ports. “All the past reviews complained about how hot and damp it was in the scorching Queensland summer, so it was essential that we added air conditioning to the whole property,” she adds. Reducing heat also allowed the team to retain the original timber floorboards and single-skin weatherboard walls.

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The interior design follows a distinctly warm, nostalgic and sepia-toned bent, with “finishes inspired by ’70s surf culture” including cork, rattan, and striped canvas. Describing it as “a caravan vibe”, Tozer focused her redesign on her own personal memories of growing up on the coast. “The whole project needed to be fun,” she says. “The colour palette had to be like nothing seen in Noosa—something bright and full of energy.”

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For this reason, all the bunk beds feature a retro spice brown shade as an accent, which is juxtaposed with cheerful shades of dusty sky blue, canary yellow and cherry red. Clo Studios peppered each space with subtle nods to the seaside via framed vintage postcards (“found at a flea market stall in Saint Ouen, Paris”), shell-shaped ceramics and nautical stripes. “Being a ’90s baby, there is a recurring theme of dolphins throughout the lodge,” adds Tozer. “I think just about everyone smiles when they see a dolphin.”

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“The Australian theme continues in the communal record and lounge area where you will find vintage books of iconic Australian animals, fishing guides, dolphins and old school road maps,” says Tozer. Stacked with vinyl albums, a vintage record player, and a pool table there’s a strong sense of community in this public area.

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Even the original ping pong table which Tozer recalls from her childhood makes an appearance, as well as an old piano from the lodge’s 19th century past—“while no longer in tune, it’s a beautiful mantel that dresses the space,” says Tozer. There’s also old black-and-white photos of Halse Lodge and Noosa through the ages which have been framed and hung on walls.

 

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Old church pews found on the property also scored a second life, and were upholstered in turmeric-coloured velvet and a woven sand-coloured stripe. “We wanted the furniture to feel casual and laid back,” explains Tozer of the decision to place striped director’s chairs, picnic tables and white iron garden chairs around the property, much “like the ones you would remember from your grandma’s verandah.”

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The whole place is surrounded by a deeply felt sense of nostalgia, one that’s designed to distil both a sense of the local community, and the Sunshine Coast landscape. As Tozer explains, “all the dorm rooms are connected by a verandah that allows breakout zones for relaxed afternoons spent in the striped deck chairs or candid conversations on the restored church pews.” 

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Even the signage found throughout the property, including the welcome sign and room numbers was hand built and painted by a local sign writer. As you gaze out at the surrounding Noosa National Park and glimpses of the ocean, you may even spot some remaining local wildlife in the form of a kookaburra or water dragon.

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True to their promise, the public bar and restaurant has been overhauled to include modern versions of Aussie pub classics, a daily Happy Hour and a cocktail menu featuring local Queensland ingredients like lemon myrtle and pineapple. Now updated to sleep 101 guests, Halse Lodge includes a family-friendly mix of shared rooms (including a generous six-bed dorm), private King rooms and two private self-contained suites fitted with a kitchenette.

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As one can imagine, the restoration of Halse Lodge has been the talk of the town, admits Tozer, who is thrilled to report “exceptionally positive” accounts. “As well as welcoming back international travellers, our goal was to see locals back there—and the feedback has been nothing short of amazing,” she says. “Having locals work on the project was integral to its success, [because they] understand the environment, the town and its people. Also, being a curious traveller myself, I’m slowly realising what it takes to create a soul-enriching home away from home.”

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A bathroom.

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A private room.

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A shared bathroom in a two-bedroom dorm.

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A private two-bedroom suite.

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A private two-bedroom suite.

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A private suite.

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A private suite.

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