Old Redcliffe Fire Station to celebrate 70 years at event

Iconic landmark the Old Redcliffe Fire Station will party like it’s 1949 with art exhibitions and historical memorabilia on show. Here’s all you need to know to be part of the action.

The old Redcliffe Fire Station is celebrating 70 years with a party and artists exhibition. Picture: Dominika Lis

The red-brick beauty of Redcliffe has stood the test of time on the Peninsula and next month it celebrates its 70th birthday.

The Old Redcliffe Fire Station was built in 1949 to service a booming population at a cost of £11,000.

As a nine-year-old girl in 1949, Rothwell’s Barbara Wallace – the daughter of the newly-minted Chief Fire Officer Brian Wallace – moved into the new station living quarters upstairs.

She says it was very exciting to live above a functioning fire station where her father served until he retired after 28 years in Redcliffe.

“Initially, behind the fire station, we had the standard chook farm, and behind that there were a couple of houses – then just bush. The fire station was the biggest building on the Peninsula,” she says.

It began with a workforce of three, and one fire engine, and grew to include 18 firemen during Mr Wallace’s time there.

The building was heritage-listed in 2005 before it was closed in 2008, when a new station was built at Kippa-Ring. A $2 million restoration was undertaken to reimagine the Old Redcliffe Fire Station as an arts hub, and the project took home the silver award for Agency Conservation Programs in the National Trust Queensland Heritage Awards.

The old Redcliffe Fire Station is celebrating 70 years with a party and artists exhibition. Picture: Dominika Lis

In 2015, the former fire station reopened as an arts and volunteer hub, and the Redcliffe Arts Society and the Redcliffe Pottery Group took up residence.

Redcliffe Arts Society publicity manager Kathryn Coller says the Old Fire Station gallery and volunteer hub is a landmark and important part of the Peninsula’s history.

Children from primary schools in the area will contribute “fire station-themed art” as part of 70th birthday celebrations, which will also include a barbecue and party.

“With the support of the Redcliffe Pottery Group and the Moreton Bay Regional Council, Redcliffe Art Society is holding an open event during the afternoon and evening,” Kathryn says.

“We are inviting the local community to attend and explore the present and past use of the Redcliffe Fire Station.

“A fire engine and firemen from Kippa-Ring Fire Station will visit during the event … and fire station memorabilia and historic photos will be placed on display.”

WARNING: COPYRIGHT FOR MORETON LIFE USE ONLY The old Redcliffe Fire Station is celebrating 70 years with a party and artists exhibition.

OLD REDCLIFFE FIRE STATION 70th BIRTHDAY

What: Barbecue, art demonstrations, exhibition, visit from fire engines, SES and Marine Rescue and live music

Where: Old Redcliffe Fire Station, 395 Oxley Ave, Redcliffe

When: November 1, 3-8pm

For details: Visit redcliffeartsociety.com.au