GROOM, Donn

GROOM, Donn

08-Aug-1937 - 22-Jun-2020

An adventurer who lived life to the full. The oldest son of Arthur Groom, co-founder of Binna Burra Lodge in Lamington National Park, Donn helped manage the lodge for some years and introduced abseiling as a way of allowing guests to see remote waterfalls and crevices in the Park. Many guests found this a life-changing experience, teaching them to face their fears. He was unafraid of learning new skills such as stone masonry, and built rock walls at Binna Burra, Alaska and New Zealand. He was an accomplished rock-climber, climbing in South-East Queensland, Tasmania , Alaska and New Zealand and he pioneered many routes such as the east face of Mt Barney. He learnt navigation and yachting and sailed from Alaska to Australia and then to New Zealand where he built another house listed in Extreme Houses of the World.