Cloudland

This article is about a former entertainment venue in Brisbane. For the Pere Ubu album, see Cloudland (album).

For the hotel on Roan Mountain, North Carolina/Tennessee, United States, see Cloudland (hotel).

Interior of Cloudland Dance Hall, ca. 1950

Originally called "Luna Park", Cloudland Dance Hall was a famous Brisbane entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills. It was demolished in 1982 and the site was subsequently developed into an apartment complex.

On its hilltop site above Brisbane, Cloudland's distinctive parabolic laminated roof arch, nearly 18 metres high, was highly visible.

History

Arched entrance in 1946

It was constructed in 1939-40, by T.H.Eslick and opened on 2 August 1940.^[1] Eslick paid particular attention to the dance floor. He wanted to create the "best ballroom in the Southern Hemisphere".^[1] A funicular railway ran up the side of the hill from the tram stop on Breakfast Creek Road carrying passengers to the rear of the Ballroom. The site was originally intended to have a fun park like Luna park Melbourne, which Eslick had built in 1912.^[2] It was the largest building of its type in Brisbane.^[1]

Eslick disappeared soon after Cloudland was opened so the building was left abandoned until 1942 when it was used by the American military.^[1][1] When Cloudland was re-opened after the war, the name Luna Park was dropped and the building was thenceforth known as Cloudland Ballroom. The funicular was dismantled in 1967 and the area was turned into a car park.

Cloudland was purchased by sisters Mya Winters & Francis Rouch^[2] for 16,000 pounds and re-opened on 24 April 1947. On 2 Sept 1948 Laurence Olivier & Vivien Leigh visit ofter doing the play School for Scandal for a débutants ball for the "Royal society of St George".

As a pop/rock/old time music venue Cloudland hosted thousands of dances and concerts in the 50s, 60s and 70s, including a number of notable events. It hosted three of the six concerts performed by rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly on his only Australian tour in February 1958.

Cloudland was used regularly by Australian bands from the '50s to the early '80s, and for much of the '60s it was the central venue for the Sunshine group. Sunshine was headed by Brisbane businessman Ivan Dayman (originally from Adelaide), who leased Cloudland from Apel around 1965. Resident bands from the late 60s to its closure included The Sounds Of Seven, The Highmarks and The Seasons of the Witch. The dance format in those times covered old time through to rock n' roll. Cloudland was also used as an exam venue by the University of Queensland.

The venue was a classic World War II structure. Inside it had hard timber floors, decorative columns, sweeping curtains, domed sky lights and chandeliers. Cloudland also had an upper circle of tiered seating which overlooked the floor and stage. An impressive tall domed entrance was also visible from surrounding suburbs. Cloudland Ballroom was said to be the best dance and concert hall in Australia during that time.^{[citation needed]}

Despite strenuous public calls for its preservation, the building was demolished overnight on 7 November 1982 by the Deen Brothers, a 'no-questions-asked' outfit favoured by the state government and Brisbane City Council for such controversial demolition jobs. The demolition took place despite there being no permit and in spite of its National Trust listing.^[2]

Midnight Oil, who had played at Cloudland many times, immortalised the demolition in their song Dreamworld (from the Diesel and Dust LP) which attacked the greed of the pro-development forces.

In 2004, a ballet Cloudland choreographed by Francois Klaus was premiered at the Brisbane Festival, and has since been performed in a number of Australian and European cities.

Namesake

The entertainment venue was immortalized at the beginning of 2009 when it was used as the namesake of a new Brisbane "Mega-Club" located approximately 1.5 kilometers away in Fortitude Valley. Despite the new venues modern decor and design the developers of the nightclub have described it as an urbane oasis, much like the former cloudland.

See also

Queensland portal

• History of Brisbane

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Hogan, Janet (1982). Living History of Brisbane. Spring Hill, Queensland: Boolarong Publications. pp. 111. ISBN 0908175418. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Brisbane 150 Stories. Brisbane City Council Publication. 2009. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-1-875091-60-6. 

External links

• Cloudland Bar - Modern namesake.
• A tribute to Cloudland

Coordinates: 27°26′51.60″S 153°02′26.22″E / 27.447667°S 153.0406167°E / -27.447667; 153.0406167