A farming family in Central Queensland have rebuilt and restored a community hub at Lotus Creek, which was wiped out by Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
The old service station had been closed for almost five years, leaving the local community and travelers passing through without fuel and important services on the Marlborough and Sarina Rd.
Lotus Creek is 210km north west of Rockhampton and 175km south west of Mackay.
Looking to fill the gap, the closure of the old service station dealt the local community, third generation graziers David and Lynda Kemp and their family at Lotus Park, purchased the Lotus Creek Tourist Park in early 2019.
The Kemps have since transformed the old service station, trucking in two old buildings to form, The Homestead at Lotus Creek.
The Kemps have resided in local area for the last 52 years.
Emma Kotrba, daughter of David and Lynda Kemp, said the family are excited to bring some life back to the stretch of road.
"The ties to Lotus Creek go way back to the 70's when my dad David can remember buying a paper bag full of lollies for just a few cents, or selling the home grown eggs for a bit of pocket money," Ms Kotrba said.
"Living remotely there's a lot you learn to live without, but we felt the community needed a connection point, a central hub to bring everyone together, and a destination for those travelling through.
"So when Lotus Creek Tourist Park hit the market the prospect of bringing some life back to the place was exciting."
"Without the family and The Lotus Park team pitching in, it wouldn't have been possible."
Steve Hart, son-in-law to the David and Lynda Kemp, said the old service station was an important service hub between the north and south, when the coastal highway didn't exist.
"Once they opened the coast road, the other three servos on the stretch of road shut down and this one kept going," Mr Hart said.
"The previous owner had it running and it provided the community with fuel and rural services as people come through this way.
"When Lotus Park purchased the old service station, grey nomads would often park their caravans here and we had a lot of people calling in at home looking for fuel."
Mr Hart said the philosophy behind 'The Homestead at Lotus Park' it is to have somewhere for everyone in the community to gather but also to attract victors to the region.
"It's a beautiful little spot along the kilometre-long Lotus Creek," he said.
"As long as we've been at Lotus Park, the service station has been here so it's always been part of it.
"We didn't want it to shut down. We weren't sure whether it'd be a viable thing but the whole community got behind it."
In mid 2020, the Kemps started renovating the buildings and then it took almost two years to complete it.
"At home, it's all about that country hospitality," Mr Hart said.
"It's called 'The Homestead at Lotus Creek' and it had to be homestead, so we got two buildings that look the same and done it up the same.
"One is the house and one is the shop and they look like one beautiful building."
Mr Hart said the family has received a lot of positive feedback to the homestead and have been inundated with bookings.
"All the locals are starting to book in for the restaurant and really support us," he said.
"We're overwhelmed with how much people are keen to see it happen and want to support us that's just great.
"It'll be a good spot for grey nomads traveling through because it's remote and weekend away for young families."
Last Saturday, the owners invited the community and those involved in The homestead to celebrate the work achieved over the past two years.
Lindsay and Jen Hart manage the restaurant and front of house.
Mr Hart said It's been a huge encouragement to chat with the community and know that The Homestead will be valued.
"People are loving it, they're coming up for the weekend with their families," he said.
"There is a full blown commercial kitchen in there and my wife is a professional cook and she's been cooking around 200 meals a day for the last 15 years."