Loss of a son to suicide behind NSW man Allan Taylor's epic waterfall restaurant

The majestic view and cosy cabin vibe of Ben's Falls Retreat conceals a dark past for the Taylor family.

After Ben Taylor took his own life in 2004, aged 19, his grieving father, Allan, channelled his emotional energy into building a restaurant on the side of a hill overlooking a crashing waterfall.

The restaurant was dedicated to Ben's memory, and the waterfall opposite was also named after him.

Mr Taylor's daughter, Allana Price, said the build was cathartic for her father.

"It was all his idea and it really helped him be able to come to terms with Ben, and put all that energy somewhere," she said.

Located near the village of Emmaville in northern NSW, Ben's Falls Retreat officially opened its doors for events and functions in 2010.

Sadly, Allan Taylor suffered a fatal heart attack in 2014 while working on the family property.

Ms Price said despite her father being a career electrician, he was determined to build the restaurant and put a positive spin on their family's grief.

"No-one thought he could do it," she said.

The restaurant has been closed since Christmas 2019, but would have been back in business by now had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms Price said her family was moving toward reopening the space soon, and she was looking forward to sharing the space with other families again.

"Every wall has [Mr Taylor's] personality in it; it's his dream and it's been beautiful to be able to share that with guests and our family," she said.

"It's been good for us as a family too, to stay strong and together."

'It's our whole family, it's our life'

Brad Taylor worked closely with his father on the restaurant's construction.

He said his dad kept all the blueprints and planning in his head, which made it nearly impossible to keep up.

"I had no idea, because it started with just 10 poles and I didn't actually understand any of it," he said.

"And he'd never tell you any of it, so you're trying to think ahead of him, why he knows what he wants to do.

"Dad had it in his head how he wanted to do it, and didn't tell a secret to anyone else."

Fitted with rich timber floorboards sourced from in and around the family property, Mr Taylor said his father was as resourceful as they came.

"He wasn't one to buy much, he was always one to source stuff, anything, and make something of it," he said.

"And that's why it's so rustic, everything's built from the land."

He said the build brought plenty of bickering, but ultimately delivered cherished memories working alongside his father.

"We made a little seat that he used to sit on, and just hooked it on the crane, and I used to drive the crane and put him in position," Mr Taylor said.

"Then he used to use a big AUG and drill all the bolts through, and sometimes the AUG would grab and spin him round the post.

"Then he'd yell at me, and then I'd yell at him, and that's how it went for most of the whole journey."

Mr Taylor said when he looked out to Ben's Falls from the restaurant's glass walls, "it's pretty much just our whole family really, it's where we were brought up, it's our life".

'Something that would help him cope with life'

Shirley Taylor said her husband always dreamed of building a glass penthouse down by the waterfall on their property.

But eventually the idea of building a restaurant won out.

"One day he came home and he said: "Well, I've bought that block of land, and I'm going to build a restaurant," she said.

"'And you're going to cook in it', and I said: 'Allan, I'm not a chef'."

Ms Taylor admits even she had her doubts that her husband could pull off the build when he started.

"But I knew he would make it work, and I would be there to support him and help him to do that," she said.

"As he always said, it was to put a negative into a positive, which I think he's done."

'You've just got to keep going'

Ms Taylor said she was immensely proud of what her husband was able to accomplish in building the restaurant, and that it had left a powerful legacy for her children to continue.

"He always said, 'We will never sell this place', and he wanted it to keep going, and I would like to do that for him," she said.

She says his presence can still be felt in the restaurant.

"He's definitely still here, he will always be here," Ms Taylor said.

"We've had a couple of functions where different things have happened and people who knew Allan were here and they said, 'That was Allan'."

Allana Taylor said working through the grief of her brother Ben's death wasn't something a restaurant could solve, but she continues to be inspired but how her father pushed forward in their family's darkest hour.

"But it keeps going, so you've just got to keep going and try and look at things as positively as you can.

"I really like Dad's philosophy, and I suppose I'm taking it on myself."