Guide to Redcliffe Queensland Australia

Redcliffe is the main town of a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay, about 35 kilometres north of the centre of Brisbane. The site of the first European settlement in Queensland, it is today a relaxed seaside destination with a jetty, a free swimming lagoon, a waterfront of cafes and a laneway tribute to the Bee Gees, who grew up here.

Known For

• The Redcliffe Jetty and Settlement Cove Lagoon
• Bee Gees Way
• Bayside beaches, seafood and Sunday markets

The town faces east across the bay to Moreton Island. Redcliffe Parade runs along the waterfront, with the jetty at its centre and parks and beaches to either side. The peninsula also takes in the seaside suburbs of Scarborough to the north and Margate and Woody Point to the south, all linked by a continuous foreshore path.

With calm water, gentle beaches and plenty of free things to do, Redcliffe is one of the best family day trips from Brisbane.

Things To Do in Redcliffe

Redcliffe Jetty and Foreshore

The timber jetty is the symbol of the town, the third to stand on the site since 1885. It is a favourite for fishing, for evening walks and for watching the sun rise over the bay. Either side of it, the foreshore is a ribbon of parkland with playgrounds, barbecues and old fig trees, and on Sundays a market of food, craft and produce stalls sets up along the parade.

Settlement Cove Lagoon

Just north of the jetty, this free public lagoon has several linked swimming pools with sandy edges, a shallow area for toddlers, water-play fountains and barbecues under palm trees, all with a view of the bay. It is patrolled by lifeguards and open all year, and it is the busiest spot in town on a hot day.

Bee Gees Way

Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb spent part of their childhood in Redcliffe in the late 1950s and signed their first music contract here. Bee Gees Way, a laneway between the parade and Sutton Street, tells their story with statues, photographs, video screens and a light show set to their songs each evening. Barry Gibb opened it himself.

Beaches

The peninsula has more than 20 kilometres of bay beaches. Suttons Beach, a short walk south of the jetty, is the most popular, with calm water, lifeguards in season and a grassy park behind. The water is shallow and waves are small, making it well suited to children.

History and Museum

The Redcliffe Museum, in a former church, covers the brief convict settlement of 1824, the seaside resort years and local life. A short walk along the foreshore passes memorials marking the first settlement site.

On the Water

Whale watching cruises leave from the Redcliffe jetty between June and October, when humpbacks rest in the bay. Fishing charters, sailing and kayak hire are available on the peninsula, and the bay is popular for kite surfing. The Dolphins rugby league team plays its home matches at a stadium in the town.

Where To Stay

Redcliffe has a reasonable range of accommodation along the waterfront.

Apartment hotels on Redcliffe Parade and Marine Parade, including a large complex with a lagoon pool and a pub beneath it, offer self-contained apartments with bay views. A modern hotel at Margate Beach, a few minutes south, has rooms facing the water.

Motels, holiday units and caravan parks are spread around the peninsula, including waterfront parks at Scarborough and Clontarf with cabins and powered sites.

Weekends, school holidays and festival dates are busiest. Redcliffe is about 30 minutes from Brisbane Airport, which makes it a workable base for a short stay.

Eat & Drink

Seafood is the specialty. Fish and chip shops and seafood restaurants along the parade serve Moreton Bay bugs, prawns, oysters and local fish, and eating them in the park opposite is a Redcliffe tradition.

The waterfront has a line of cafes, gelato bars, pubs and restaurants covering Italian, Thai, Indian and modern Australian food, most with outdoor tables facing the bay. A large tavern near the jetty has a deck over the water.

Further cafes and seafood outlets are found at the boat harbour in Scarborough and along the foreshore at Woody Point.

History

The peninsula is the country of the Gubbi Gubbi and Ningy Ningy peoples. In 1824 a party of soldiers and convicts landed here to found the Moreton Bay penal settlement, naming the place for its red cliffs. Within a year the settlement was moved to the Brisbane River, and the abandoned huts gave the area the name Humpybong, from words meaning dead houses.

Farmers returned in the 1860s, and steamers from Brisbane made Redcliffe a holiday resort. A road bridge of 1935, then the longest in the southern hemisphere, ended its isolation. A railway to the peninsula finally opened in 2016.

Getting to Redcliffe

By car Redcliffe is about 45 minutes from central Brisbane by the Gateway Motorway and the bridge across Bramble Bay. Trains on the Redcliffe Peninsula line run from Central to Kippa-Ring in about 50 minutes, with buses on to the waterfront.

Parking along the foreshore is free. A shared path links Redcliffe with the other peninsula suburbs, ideal for exploring by bicycle.

Nearest Airport: Brisbane