08/10/2026
🏨🎶 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐋 — 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓’𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊
For more than 130 years, one prominent corner of Woody Point was associated with hotels, holidays, music, dancing and generations of locals.
And in 1959, it became part of the story of three young brothers who would go on to become the Bee Gees. 🎸
The story begins in 1883, when St Leonards Hotel was built at the corner of Gayundah Esplanade and Lilla Street, Woody Point.
The opening of Woody Point’s first significant jetty in 1882 helped establish the area as a seaside destination, with visitors travelling by ferry from Sandgate and staying at the St Leonards Hotel. Queensland Places records the hotel as an important part of Woody Point’s early holiday trade.
The hotel was subsequently renamed the Great Western Hotel, with the name change generally dated to about 1886.
Then, in 1907, disaster struck.
The Great Western Hotel was destroyed by fire. A new hotel was subsequently constructed on the site and was operating by late 1908, while City of Moreton Bay's historical documentation dates the surviving Palace building to circa 1909. Moreton Daily likewise records that the hotel was rebuilt in 1909 and named the Palace.
So, for historical accuracy, 1908–09 is the safest way to describe the transition.
And so began the story of the Palace Hotel.
🏨 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒
The hotel changed hands several times before Harold and Lily Filmer leased it in 1926 and purchased it the following year.
Under the Filmers, it became known as Filmers Palace Hotel, and the family remained associated with the property for roughly 75 years.
The opening of the Hornibrook Highway in 1935 transformed access to the Redcliffe Peninsula, making Woody Point much easier to reach from Brisbane. Queensland Places describes Woody Point as the first stopping place after crossing Bramble Bay on the new highway.
By the 1950s, the hotel was being managed by Harold and Lily's son Ken Filmer and his wife Mavis. They introduced floor shows and live bands, helping the hotel embrace the emerging era of post-war popular entertainment.
The hotel had also undergone expansion during the Filmer era, including the development of entertainment spaces that would become an important part of its later history.
And then came one of the most famous chapters in the hotel's story…
🎸 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐄𝐒 — 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟗
In 1959, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb performed at Filmers Palace Hotel.
Barry was 12 years old, while his younger twin brothers Robin and Maurice were 9.
Their ages can be established from their documented dates of birth: Barry was born on 1 September 1946, while Robin and Maurice were born on 22 December 1949.
There is, however, an important distinction when describing the brothers' early performances.
The official Bee Gees history records that the brothers had already performed publicly in Britain as children, including a 1956 appearance at a local cinema. After the family emigrated to Australia in 1958, the boys continued performing.
In 1959, they went to Redcliffe Speedway, where they asked permission to perform between races. Their performance attracted the attention of speedway promoter Bill Goode, who introduced them to Brisbane radio personality Bill Gates.
The State Library of Queensland identifies the Redcliffe Speedway appearance as the brothers' first performance in Australia.
Filmers Palace Hotel therefore should not be described as their first public performance.
Instead, the Palace is widely identified in local historical accounts as the venue for one of the brothers' first paid gigs.
According to the hotel's recorded history, the boys performed at the Palace three nights a week, with the reported payment consisting of a Coca-Cola for each of the boys and a jug of b**r for their parents, Hugh and Barbara Gibb.
That colourful detail comes from the later historical account of the hotel, rather than from an independently verified contemporary payroll record, so it is best understood in that context.
Nevertheless, the connection itself is well established.
Three young brothers were entertaining audiences around the Redcliffe Peninsula — long before they would become one of the world's most successful musical groups. 🎶
🔥 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄
The Filmer family's long association with the hotel eventually came to an end.
Sources differ slightly over the precise year of Mavis Filmer's sale of the property, giving 2001 or 2002. City of Moreton Bay, Moreton Daily and Queensland Places record the Filmer ownership as ending in 2002, while Tydal's historical account gives 2001.
Accordingly, around 2001–02, Mavis Filmer sold the hotel, bringing approximately 75 years of Filmer family ownership to an end.
The hotel subsequently reverted to the name Palace Hotel.
It continued trading for another decade before closing in 2013.
Then came the final chapter.
The building suffered a devastating fire, and the remaining structure was subsequently demolished in December 2014. City of Moreton Bay documentation confirms the demolition date.
Interestingly, the building demolished in 2014 was not considered representative of the original Palace Hotel.
Council documentation records that the earlier building had been characterised by delicate Victorian-era filigree, deep eaves and verandahs, together with an observatory or “widow's walk” that apparently provided views towards the sea. The same documentation notes that the building demolished in 2014 bore little resemblance to the original structure.
🏗️ 𝐀 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑
Today, the historic site is entering another chapter.
The former Palace Hotel site is being transformed into Tydal Woody Point, a residential development by Traders In Purple.
Construction officially began in September 2024, when the developer held a ground-breaking ceremony at the site. The first stage comprises 104 apartments and penthouses.
A second stage, Tydal Oceana, subsequently followed as part of the wider development.
The site has therefore moved from hotel, to vacant development site, to a new residential chapter — but its earlier history remains deeply connected with Woody Point's identity.
From St Leonards Hotel in 1883, through the Great Western Hotel, the Palace Hotel, the long Filmer family era, ballroom entertainment and live music, to three young brothers who were taking their first steps towards international fame — this corner of Woody Point has witnessed an extraordinary slice of Queensland history.
The building is gone.
But the stories remain. ❤️
𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐝?
Do you remember the ballroom, the bar, the bands — or perhaps hearing the story of three young boys who once played there?
Share your memories and photographs with us. You never know what piece of Woody Point's history you might help uncover. 📸
𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 & 𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: City of Moreton Bay — Palace Hotel historical/planning documentation; Moreton Daily — “Peninsula’s Past: Looking Back at Peninsula Pubs”; Queensland Places — “Woody Point”; State Library of Queensland — Bee Gees collection and Queensland music history; official Bee Gees website — early history of the group; Tydal Woody Point — historical account and development information.
📸 𝐵𝑒𝑒 𝐺𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒: 𝑃𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ, 𝑐𝑎. 1950𝑠. 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝐷𝑎𝑣𝑒 & 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑢. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘-𝑎𝑛𝑑-𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠. 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑎. 2009-2012
