Kims' history dates back to 1886, when a local seafaring merchant, Captain Frans Charlson, established "The Camp" on the shore of Toowoon Bay. On his trading route to Norfolk Island, Charlson stopped at the picturesque inlet (then called Chinaman's Bay) for freshwater, attracted by the natural spring running down to the yellow ribbon of beach. (It was the Captain who planted the stately avenue of Norfolk Island pines we enjoy today - he planted over 100 in the general area.) This remarkable spring water is used by Kims to this day; the mineral content matching that belonging to The Great Dividing Range.

Charlson thought the bay an excellent place to bring professional people to camp on his way ferrying cargo to Norfolk Island (collecting his guests on his return voyage). Soon a slab-timbered kitchen was built which also served as the dining room. A bell summoned guests to this dining room and rang thrice daily for more than a century. This custom dates back to when men wore pocket watches, which they would not risk on sandy beaches, and the tradition of using a brass bell to signal the hour would have come naturally to Captain Charlson. (The original bell was taken down in 1940 and donated to the war effort and was replaced with a triangle during the conflict.)

In those days guest accommodation was crude, comprising tents and later simple timber cabins. Timber was in ample supply in the area. Indeed, the neighbouring suburb of Tumbi Umbi was highly valued for its timber. Tumbi Umbi is the Darkinjung word for "place of tall trees". This timber was carted by bullock team to Toowoon Bay. Later Charlson blazed a horse and cart track from Long Jetty to Toowoon Bay.

This road now comprises Archibald and Toowoon Bay roads. From this road, curling paths wound through the thick coastal rainforest and around the natural springs to the deserted beach. Timber was subsequently offloaded onto ketches for building the burgeoning city of Sydney.

Kims Camp was a "gentleman's only" retreat until the turn of the century when rules were relaxed to allow women to stay at Kims. Moreover, Australians constricted by Victorian notions of propriety, enjoying the beach was very much a "dress up" affair, with nary a glimpse of bare flesh allowed. It was not until 1902 that laws prohibiting bathing on open beaches during daylight hours were lifted.

In the 1920s two Americans, the McKimmins brothers, who started Sydney's first ice cream parlours (the brothers' secret recipes are still in use today at Kims), purchased the retreat and improved the accommodation. It was the McKimmins who used their surname to create the name "Kims Camp". However, by today's standards Kims was still a rustic experience. Walls were bare timber and the furniture consisted of an iron bed with Kapok mattresses, a night chamber pot, a broom and a towel. (Note in the photo the three inch nails for the "wardrobe".)

The Colonel, being a military man, kept many of the naval traditions of Captain Charlson. In another maritime connection, in the late 1940's, Hughes-Hallett's brother, who was then the captain of the aircraft carrier, "Implacable" (who later became Vice Admiral) was on a goodwill visit to Australia. He donated a replica of the ship's bell to replace the thrifty triangle. This, and the subsequent bell, chimed guests to the dining room for nigh on a century.

1944 - Lt. Col Huges-Hallet, with his dogs 'Darby and Joan'. The Colonel purchased the resort on sick leave during WW2

The Petrov Affair dominated Australian headlines in the mid-fifties. For months Australians were fascinated by stories of espionage and political conspiracies. Indeed, the Petrovs defection was regarded by Western intelligence services as a critical Cold War incident. However, few people know that the Petrovs were hidden from the KGB for a time at Kims Camp. For approximately six months Mr Petrov worked as a gardener while Mrs Petrov worked as a scullery maid. It's believed that the Colonel - who'd spent time in Vladivostok before the war - still had connections with the secret service and facilitated their stay. It was very hush-hush at the time but the clue lies in the fact that six cabins on the far side of Kims in the late 1950s/60s - with a wink and a nod - were always known as "Siberia."

Known with a wink and a nod as “Siberia” , now number 20 Beach to South Beach - circa late 1950s

Haldane and Marie Strachan and their son Andrew (current owner) arrived at Kims in 1957 and eventually purchased the retreat from the Colonel who wished to retire. The name was changed to Kims on the Beach and later to Kims Beach Hideaway. Haldane and Marie Strachan were born in Scotland (Dundee and Aberdeen). Mrs Strachan passed away in 1993 but her Scots jam-making skill lives on in the kitchen. Guests can still sample such marvels as quince jelly, Seville orange marmalade, melon and pineapple jam and lime chutney that Mrs Strachan made famous. Moreover, if you've ever stayed at Kims on New Year's Eve, you'll enjoy the troop of kilted Scottish Pipers piping in the haggis.

A regular guest of Kims in the 1950s was the Australian renowned modernist photographer, Max Dupain AC OBE (22 April 1911 – 27 July 1992). Dupain, best known for his iconic 1937 photo Sunbaker, took numerous historic photographs of Kims and the local area. Many of these photographs are on display around the dining room and cocktail bar. (Note smiling families in broad hats, fishing and prawning on the fringes of the lake.) Kims later commissioned Max to take photos of Toowoon Bay, and again these are on display around the dining room and cocktail bar.

While Haldane and Marie Strachan manned Kims throughout the 1950s and 60s, son Andrew Strachan ultimately pursued a career in all aspects of hospitality, working for an international hotel chain before returning to Kims in 1972, with his wife Maryjane - who's discerning eye helped style Kims - to emerge as the international beachside resort that it is today. And many of the oriental and maritime touches come from Andrew's love affair with Japan and the sea. Ultimately, with so many celebrities staying at Kims to eschew the prying eyes of the media, the name was eventually changed to Kims Beachside Retreat.

During the 1970s and 80s, numerous celebrities wishing to eschew the long lens of the paparazzi discovered Kims. International music icons such as The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson to ballet dancer and choreographer Sir Robert Helpmann, to composer and lyricist of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Anthony Newley and numerous other international notables stayed at Kims over the years. So don't be surprised to see someone from the media in the cocktail bar or your favourite rockstar sunbaking on the beach or that bestselling author of that novel you're reading, in the dining room. For nigh on a century, celebrities have valued the chilled "hideaway" aesthetic of Kims.

In the early 80s Kims undergoes a transformation. New luxury lightfilled bungalows are created to bring a bespoke level of glamour to Kims. Andrew Strachan, working hand-in-hand with leading architects, oversees a new era of opulence for Kims, where luxury meets the sea