In 1882, John Harrop Henzell brought land at the site now known as 99 Marine Parade and built one of the first of the first houses on the Redcliffe Peninsula which he called simply “Seabrae”, brae being a Scottish word meaning ‘a hillside’.
In 1909 it was purchased by Mary Stevens ,who turned it into a popular boarding house, and in 1922 a large extra wing and tennis court were added to the popular site.
In 1926 Arthur Sampson brought the Seabrae Guesthouse and it underwent even more expansions until in 1934 when the original house was demolished to make way for a modern two storey building with fifty rooms to also be used as a boarding house. August of 1940 saw the Seabrae first used for war related purposes when it was used to shelter the first group of evacuated women and children from Hong Kong, who filled the house.
Then in 1942, during World War II the Seabrae was acquired by the Australian Army for use as the LHQ School of Military Intelligence. It remained in use as an intelligence officer training camp until May 1943.
Photos 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
In June,1943 the Australian Army Hiring Service sublet the site to the US Navy who used it as a rest and recreational facility base for visiting American Navy Personal. The US occupation lasted until the end of World War II when on January 9th, 1945 the Americans
relinquished control of the Seabrae and handed the premises back to owners Arthur Sampson and Sons.
In 1959 the Seabrae Guesthouse became the Seabrae Hotel. A new two story red brick hotel was built on the site where it stood.
In 1969 the Sampson’s sold the pub and in 1970 the name “Seabrae” was dropped and over the next twenty years it went through a number of owners and in addition to the hotel rooms and public bar, and it’s patron run social club, some of the different functions of the hotel to bring in patronage included restaurants, the Boathouse and Lucifer’s nightclubs and the Goldmine Gaming Room.
In 1975 the Redcliffe Hotel played host to then future Queensland Premier Peter Beattie for his honeymoon with wife Heather. Lucifers and The Boathouse were popular nightclubs at The Seabrae during the 1980's and 1990's, and at some point in time it was even managed by NRL football legend John Sattler.
It was also thought to have had one of Queenslands last remaining sprung dance floors (such as that of Brisbane's famous Cloudland Dance Hall was renowned for).
In 2000, local identity Carmel Bullivant purchased the site and breathed new life into it turning it into a Redcliffe icon called the Fishbowl for 4 years until it was sold in 2004
2003:
In 2008/09 the Redcliffe Seabrae Hotel was demolished to make way for a 12 storey residential and commercial development called Mon Komo.
Used to drive a souped up FJ Holden up Echo Alley( the road right next to the pub) flat out in first gear, Shoulda heard it!!!