Caretaker Cottage at Ke’e Beach

UPDATE 2019: The cottage has been renovated and painted white.

The Thorn Birds starred Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck and Christopher Plummer. The cottage can be seen in the far right of the above still image from the series.

In the 1983 ABC television miniseries Thorn Birds, there is an iconic scene filmed at Ke’e Beach where the lovers consummate their passion. In the background there is a cottage that is clearly visible overlooking Ke’e Beach. Believe it or not, that cottage is still there, relatively close to the shore but hidden by heavy vegetation. The building was a caretaker cottage, probably for the Allerton House that once stood at Ke’e Beach.

Another still image of the cottage from the series.

We paid a visit to the cottage on a recent trip to Ke’e Beach. The cottage is abandoned and in ill repair. But the walls, roof, flooring and porch are still present, and some built-ins on the inside walls can still be seen. A couple of empty beer bottles were the only sign of any recent human activity at the location. Numerous spiders now reside in and around the cottage.

The cottage is less than 100 feet from Ke’e Beach but very people notice the building due to the heavy vegetation. The location of the cottage can be seen on Google Maps below where the sand and the rocks meet. To get to the cottage just walk to the left of the lifeguard tower on the left side of Ke’e Beach. You will cross an old concrete foundation and then find a trail above the rocks near the shoreline. After a very short walk down the trail (when you are nearly parallel to the beach) look up to your left to see the cottage. A simpler way to the cottage is just to walk up the dirt road to the left of Ke’e Beach, however, there is usually a do not enter sign at the bottom of the road.

Caretaker Cottage at Ke’e Beach Photos

Glimpses of Ke’e Beach can be seen from the porch of the cottage.