Woody Point Memorial School of Arts and Picture Show

A School of Arts was proposed for Redcliffe in 1899 and land set aside on the reserve at Woody Point in 1900. Building commenced in 1921 and the Woody Point Memorial School of Arts was opened by the Governor Of Queensland in 1922:

Tenders were received by 24 September 1921. These ranged from £1000 to £1400. On the advice of the architect, Hubert Thomas, the tender of Messrs F and A Pitfield was accepted. HGO Thomas (1857-1922) immigrated to Brisbane from Wales in 1883. He practised as an architect in his own right from c.1885, and from 1898 onwards he lived and practiced at Sandgate, where he served on the local School of Arts Committee. Specialising in urban villas, Thomas became a Member of the Society of Architects, London, in 1904, and a Fellow of the Queensland Institute of Architects c.1910. He was the founder of the St David's Society in Brisbane (extant by 1918), and was its President at the time of his death on the night of 1–2 March 1922, after the annual dinner of the society - two days before the Woody Point Memorial School of Arts was officially opened.

The building he designed at Woody Point consisted of a hall 30 feet (9.1 m) wide x 50 feet (15 m) long, plus a stage area 30 feet (9.1 m) wide by 15 feet (4.6 m) long. Small wings on either side of the raised stage each contained a room 12 feet (3.7 m) wide by 15 feet (4.6 m) long. Verandas on each side of the hall, south of the wings, accessed both the main hall and each wing, and there was an entrance porch on the southeast (front) elevation. Decorative battens ornamented the front gable and the smaller porch gable; three roof ventilators were located along the ridge, and a large flagpole stood in front of the entrance (since replaced by a smaller version). Originally, there were also timber fences either side of the hall. At some stage the front elevation of the hall was stuccoed.

In 1952, the Memorial Hall was the only public hall on the peninsula.

In the 1950s, extensions, financed by Redcliffe Town Council, lengthened the hall by 25 feet (7.6 m) to the northwest (stage end); to a new total length of 90 feet (27 m). The extensions, which were carried out by Bird at a cost of £1800, were officially opened on 5 March 1955. The Council paid for the new stage to be levelled and raised in November 1958 at a cost of £95. During the 1950s, the Eildon Croquet Club opened to the north of the hall, and part of the club extends onto the Memorial Hall Reserve.

Local people indicate the importance of this hall in the social life of the area. The local community members speak fondly, the older ones adamantly, on the broad range of activities held in the hall, which became very much a part of their lives. They talk of it as having a "sense of place" in the area's social memory. Some examples of organisations which have used the hall include: the Order of the Eastern Star; Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes; Redcliffe Musical Arts Society; Redcliffe Eisteddfod Committee; Redcliffe Youth Club, Redcliffe Marching Girls, and the Indoor Bowls Club. The Humpybong Yacht Club, the Woody Point and Clontarf Progress Association, the Queensland Country Women's Association, Redcliffe Citizens Cultural Club, and the Pensioners League held monthly meetings in the hall. In addition, local dance schools made use of the hall, including the Sylvena School of Dancing (later became the Sharon Alback Dance School); and the Sylvia Curie Dance School. Alan and Pat Boulton still hold modern dance classes in the hall every Friday evening.

Woody Point Memorial Hall was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 14th March 2014.

The hall continues to serve as an enduring and well-used war memorial and multi-purpose community venue into the 21st century. As at 2017, it is owned and operated by the Moreton Bay Regional Council.

A page from our Pictorial History of Redcliffe Book 1824-1949 - available to purchase at the following link: https://www.redcliffebook.com/product-page/the-pictorial-history-of-redcliffe

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Early Picture Shows Of Humpybong

72 page softcover book, detailing biographies of the earliest Picture Pavilions and theatres in Humpybong (Redcliffe) With original movie posters and movie details from advertisements and historical newspaper articles, including :

Lorneleigh Pictures Woody Point 1915 -1931

Redcliffe Picture Palace 1918 - 1928

Woody Point Memorial School of Arts Pictures 1928 -1937

Scarborough Picture Pavilion 1928 - 1935

Pier Picture Theatre Redcliffe 1928 - 1969

Margate Renown Theatre 1940 - 1962

The Bay Theatre Scarborough 1954 - 1976

Redcliffe Drive-In Theatre, Kippa Ring 1965 - 86

The book can be ordered at the following LINK

(With free store pickup and free delivery in the Moreton Bay region)

The book is also available as a downloadable pdf book at the following LINK