Peninsula's Past: History of Redcliffe Jetty

PHOTOS: Courtesy of City of Moreton Bay. Reference numbers RLPC-000\000001

SOURCES: History Redcliffe; Jetty Memories (1999).

The Redcliffe Jetty has been a landmark on the foreshore for the past 140 years, with three different structures providing a vital transportation link for visitors but also a meeting place where countless memories have been made.

In the late 1870s, the need for jetties was mooted as a way of improving access to the Peninsula and overcoming isolation.

The easiest way to visit Redcliffe, at that time, was via boat because the inland journey by horse or coach was long and relied on an unsealed road. The choice was a four-hour journey by coach or two to three-hour trip by boat.

Woody Point Jetty was the first built on the Peninsula in 1881 and the area went ahead as a result. Redcliffe residents were keen to see the same thing happen there, petitioning the Caboolture Divisional Board for a second jetty.

In 1881, Rev John Sutton and other landowners requested a jetty be built at Redcliffe Point and presented petitions to the Caboolture Divisional Board.

As a result, the first Redcliffe Jetty was completed in 1885 but it was only accessible at certain tide times when the water was not too shallow for boats to dock.

In 1889, the jetty was extended to a length of 700 feet to solve this problem.

There were rail tracks on the jetty, so goods and luggage could be placed in trolleys and rolled down the structure to the shore.

In 1917, plans were drawn up for the construction of a seawall but this was not completed until 1919.

By 1921, the jetty was declared unsafe and closed to the public. It was deemed more economical to build a new jetty than repair it.

The new Redcliffe Jetty was completed in 1922, north of the original, and stood parallel to it until the old jetty was demolished in September 1923. The second jetty was officially opened by then Queensland Governor Sir Matthew Nathan.

The first pavilion, at the jetty’s entrance, was a timber structure, built in 1923. It was replaced by the present brick structure in 1937.

In 1924, the Council imposed a toll of one penny per person to walk onto the jetty, which was abolished three months later and reinstated nine months after that.

In 1928, electricity was switched on in Redcliffe and by 1930 six lights were installed on the jetty.

The original halfway house was a waiting shed with stairs down to landings on each side of the structure.

Harry Pearson, who was the proprietor from 1938-52, was given permission to enclose each section and turn it into an amusement arcade which operated for 34 years. Jerry and Vera Woodhead ran it from 1952. It was demolished by council in 1973.

Some of the ships that brought passengers to Redcliffe were the Koopa, Doomba, Beaver and Marguerite. It was not uncommon for several vessels to be anchored near the jetty at the same time.

Time and several cyclones took their toll on the second jetty and, by 1995, plans went on display for a third version.

The second structure was demolished in 1998 and the third jetty opened the following year.

It remains a landmark, tourist attraction, transportation link and favourite among locals and visitors who use it every day.

Redcliffe Jetty through the ages