Sandgate Historical Museum in Sandgate, Queensland, Australia | History Museum

Sandgate Historical Museum

Locality: Sandgate, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 3869 2283

Address: 150 Rainbow Street 4017 Sandgate, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.sandgatemuseum.com.au

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21.01.2022 The Strand Theatre (on Pier Avenue formerly Kate Street) Shorncliffe. Built in 1928 by the well-known builder Mr Ossie Brooks for Mr George Hancock. It replaced the Decker Hall. It was called "The Felix" until 1930 when it was renovated and renamed "The Strand". The Hamer family purchased "The Strand" inn 1949 and sold it in 1959. Prior to the renovation the front was not closed in. However, unlike "The Bon Accord", it did have a wooden floor. The ticket office was a circular... moveable box type structure which was moved onto the footpath to sell tickets. In 1959 "The Strand" closed and the building was removed to 17 Bellare Avenue, Northgate where it became Maunsell's Furniture Factory. See more

19.01.2022 OOps attached pictures now are of the old Town Hall and Sea Breeze.

16.01.2022 Holland House - 92 Yundah Street, Shorncliffe, Holland House reflects the appeal of Shorncliffe as a seaside resort for Brisbane residents in the nineteenth century. Built in 1890 as a hotel, it was intended to cater to vacationers brought to Sandgate and Shorncliffe by the new railway line. By 1882, Yundah Street had become a popular area for boarding houses, and 92 Yundah Street, originally owned by William John Loudon, was purchased by Fortitude Valley second-hand dealer ...Jacob Dickinson. In 1889 Dickinson applied for a hotel licence for the property but his application was refused on the grounds of a hotel being ‘unneeded’. In spite of this response Dickinson had completed construction of the property by 1890, when he was declared insolvent. From the early twentieth century the building operated as a boarding house, known initially as Dorset House. The large timber residence was a popular holiday and honeymoon destination. The house and a tennis court stood on grounds of one and a half acres within two minutes’ walk of the beach and three minutes from the railway station. Mrs English, the proprietress from 1916-1925, offered visitors ‘every attention and all home comforts’ as well as ‘milk and poultry from our own yards’. During World War II it operated as a brothel and was popular with American servicemen on leave. In 1953 the building was converted into six flats. https://www.seniorsnews.com.au//bayside-homes-are/3071055/ https://heritage.brisbane.qld.gov.au/heritage-places/1478 https://www.realestate.com.au//unit-2-92-yundah-st-shorncl https://www.facebook.com//holland-house-/2932368830207532/

09.01.2022 The Beach Theatre (was on the corner of 3rd Avenue & Flinders Parade) The Beach Theatre was built for George Hancock by Ossie Brooks, who also built the Bon Accord and The Strand Theatres. The Hamer Family leased the Beach in 1949 and sold it in 1952. The Beach Theatre was the Saturday night "go-to" place in the 60s for the then teenage, Baby Boomers who occupied the downstairs canvas front stalls. The Beach Theatre had a search light on the roof which shone vertically to adv...ertise its location (possibly inspired by the 20th Century Fox Logo.) The building was used as a ballroom, a mini golf course, and for roller skating. In 1978 it was completely gutted by fire. See more

08.01.2022 The original wooden town hall in Kate Street (now Pier Avenue) was the venue for early picture projection shows, operated by the Hancock family. (1882 - 1910) The hall section had a seating capacity of 350. It was used for cinema shows, concerts, civic gatherings, band recitals and church services. The last "cinematograph" show was held on May 24th 1910 after which, while someone was retrieving projection equipment, a hurricane lamp was dropped, causing a fire that engulfed t...he hall as well as the neighbouring house. As water had not been reticulated to Sandgate at that time both buildings burnt down. "Sea Breeze" 1942 - 1980 Films were shown in the early 1940s at the Sandgate R.A.A.F. base. The base later became Eventide Home and then the Brighton Health Campus. The theatre was known as "Sea Breeze" Theatre and was used to provide entertainment for the R.A.A.F. trainees and staff who were stationed there from 1942. "The Sea Breeze" operated until the early 1980s when it was demolished to make way for an auditorium. See more

07.01.2022 The "Mayfair Theatre" was situated at the corner of Brighton Road and Second Avenue. It was the last of the Sandgate theatres to be built, and was constructed for the Hamer family by Albert Carrick in 1934. The Hamers were very experienced theatre proprietors, having operated theatres in Gympie before coming to Sandgate. "The Mayfair" was a high profile building with a large gallery or dress circle, linings to both ceilings and walls, and with a very attractive front. It had... the usual canvas steamer type chairs to the lower section and upstairs dress circle, with canvas deck chairs to the reserved lounge area. A competition was held to determine a name, the most popular being "Mayfair'. It proved to be a very popular theatre with full houses on most nights. It ceased operation in 1947, and the building then became Pelaco Shirt Factory providing employment for many Sandgate people. In 1962 it became Bayard's Department Store until 1982. The building was demolished in 1985. There are wonderful stories about "The Mayfair" - the prizes on Wednesday night, Dodd's pie cart outside at interval and more. See more

05.01.2022 Sandgate had 10 movie theatres. We will run a series about each one, starting with the open air theatres. There were 3 open air picture shows - The Pier, Moora Park and Flinders Parade. Stories told about the Pier Open Air theatre are most enjoyable. At this time they were silent movies, and were accompanied by a pianist.... The projectionist was Nev Amies. The pianist to set the mood was Frank Pearson. He would arrive with the piano on the back of his truck. It is said that when the film reel broke (as it did often!), the crowd would yell and boo and whistle, and Frank would play "Oh dear what can the matter be?" It is also said that when it was a high tide, people had to sit with their feet up! See more

04.01.2022 "The Bon Accord" Theatre was on the corner of Hancock Street and Rainbow Street.(Where service station is now). It was built by Mr Ossie Brooks for the first owner, Mr George Hancock. Mr Borroks also built "The Beach" and "The Strand" (Felix) theatres. "The Village Blacksmith", "Suzanne" and "Trifling Women" were silent movies first released about 1922. Silent movies were accompanied by Mrs Hamer on the piano and on occasion by a three-piece orchestra. The Hamer Family owned... "The Bon Accord" 1949 - 1960. The first full-length "talkies" movie "The Jazz Singer" was released in 1927. At the time of the picture attached, the "Bon Accord" had a dirt floor. It was closed for renovations in 1932-33 to install a stage, wooden floor, new seats, plaster ceiling and to line the walls of the theatre and the foyer. The bird display case at the Sandgate Museum was one of the 4 which featured in the foyer. See more

02.01.2022 Many delightful stories are told about the theatres. One story told about "The Strand" would raise eyebrows today. When cinemascope pictures came in, the picture was wider than previous films, and the curtains at "The Strand" did not go back far enough. The theatre operator at the time, employed a young school boy to climb up into the rafters above the curtains, to physically push the curtains back. (Imagine this as a work place and safety issue!) That was only the first part...! - the young school boy's friends in the audience at the Saturday matinee would try to "Ping" him with a shang-hai shot (catapult). The "bag boys" tell another story. "The Strand" and "The Bon Accord" employed boys with bicycles to transport the tin of film from one theatre to the other at interval. The boys had a leather satchel to contain the reel of film, and would have to "tide like mad" from one theatre to the other to enable the exchange of films at interval.

02.01.2022 Boondall Drive-in 1956 - 1990 (Was bound by Stanworth Rd and Sandgate Road, near "Sue's Corner". The area is now housing, the streets are named "Mayfair", and Regency.) The is a memorial plaque on the corner of Stanworth Road and Mayfair Place commemorating the drive-in theatre history. There are many, many wonderful stories about "going to the drive-in"- the food which could be purchased, sneaking in by hiding in the boot of a car, driving off with the speaker still attached...! The first American-style drive-in theatre to open in Australia was the "Skyline" in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood on 18th February, 1954. At one stage Queensland had over fifty drive-in theatres. Now all of the suburban Brisbane drive-in theatres have closed, leaving "The Tivoli" in Ipswich, and the Gold Coast "Yatala" as the closest ones to Brisbane. In rural Queensland, however, there are still a number of drive-in theatres operating. See more

02.01.2022 R.T. Rutter Joinery Business The business was on the corner of Rainbow Street and Derryls Lane - it is now a block of units. Ralph Rutter was born in 1912 in Laidley, and when the family moved to Sandgate his father established a joinery and cabinet making business. Ralph attended Sandgate State school and joined his father in H.T.Rutter and son's business in 1928. Ralph continued the business until he retired in 1973.... His meticulous work can be seen still in many houses in Sandgate. Ralph was a member of the Sandgate Yacht Club and sailed with Skipper Drew on the "Resolute". He made a great contribution to the Sandgate Presbyterian Church (where he was married in 1938), and was a member of the Sandgate Male Choir, Rotary, and delivered Meal on Wheels for over 20 years. Daughters Peggy and Shirley visited the museum recently to check out the Rutter sign on the wall of the museum. See more