House of Bottles, Tewantin, Sunshine Coast, Queensland

The House of Bottles was a must-see on the Coast tourist trail, along with the Big Pineapple and the Big Cow during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

It was built by Tewantin resident George Clifford in the 1960s from thousands of bottles and housed a collection of unusual and historic bottles.

The House of Bottles was constructed from more than 35,000 bottles. George Clifford started collecting bottles in 1952 and his collection grew so large that he needed a place to house it. The House of Bottles opened on Boxing Day, 1966 and included a museum housing over 5,000 bottles ranging in age from 2,000 years old to contemporary, and ranging in size from a fingernail to 20 gallon capacity. The Big Stubby was built in 1969 and was 8.5 metres height, 4 metres across, it had 3 floors with a spiral staircase to the top. A 15 metre slippery slide provided a ride back to the base. The Big Stubby was constructed from 17,000 stubbies and was in proportion to an actual stubby. It took 5 months to build. The Wee Stubbies or Little Houses of Bottles were constructed in 1975 from 5,000 stubbies and were the most talked about His and Hers (toilet block).

The House of Bottles was open from 1966 to 2003.