Peninsula's Past: How shopping arcade mecca was born

SOURCES: History Redcliffe, Redcliffe revisted: A Social History of the Peninsula by Moya Pennell and Judith Nissen for Moreton Bay Regional Council (2008).  

Historic images: Courtesy of City of Moreton Bay RLPC-000 000218 and RLPC-002 002345.

Redcliffe’s appeal as a rest and recreation destination was as much about shopping and entertainment as it was about its bayside location during WWII and for many years after thanks to the creation of retail arcades.

Businessman Athanasi (Arthur) Stavrou Comino recognised Redcliffe’s potential before the war started, buying 1 rood and 24 perches of land on the site of the present Comino's Arcade at 133-137 Redcliffe Pde in 1938.

At that time, it was the site of the Moreton Vista boarding house, which he planned to move back from the street so he could build shops with living quarters for the family above.

An early morning fire on June 26, 1941, destroyed the boarding house, the adjacent fish shop and two other shops, and resulted in a rethink of those plans.

Arthur, a stone mason, devised an ambitious vision for the site – a three-storey building with an arcade and shops on the ground floor, a ballroom and living quarters.

He began building in 1942, supervising the project and building substantial portions himself. The work was finished in 1944.

Originally called the Acropolis Building, it was a brick and reinforced concrete construction with terrazzo and tiled floors.

The four ground-level shops included a café, a dress shop, a casket agency and a photographer, and there was a hairdresser within the arcade.

The first floor contained the family's flat along with serviced bedrooms, and the second floor had more serviced bedrooms set around a ballroom with a terrazzo floor.

Sadly, Arthur died in 1949 as a result of a fall while working on the building.

The arcade, now known as Comino’s Arcade, was extended through to Sutton St in 1968 (designed by Colin Tannett and built by Jim Fortune). It was heritage listed in 2009.

Clarkes Arcade, now known as The Jetty Arcade, was built in 1958 by Cecil and Muriel Clarke at 139 Redcliffe Pde through to Sutton St.

The couple had previously made ‘Horse a Planes’ for the Australian Comforts Fund to entertain and raise money for the war effort, with their fairground attraction operating at the corner of Redcliffe Pde and Humpybong Esp.

The Walk Arcade, at 93 Redcliffe Pde through to Sutton St, was built by Sparkes and Son for Dorothy Schulte in a bid to create a space for her children’s wear shop in 1960. During the 1960s, her Californian Casuals store was a renowned fashion house on the northeastern side of the arcade.

During its retail heyday, before the arrival of large ‘drive-in’ shopping centres, Redcliffe’s bustling CBD was home to boutiques, haberdashery shops, electrical retailers, jewellers, banks, grocery stores, cafes and more.

The area was particularly busy when it was the only place you could go shopping on Saturdays. The trade-off was an early close on Wednesdays.