How Townsville’s pubs, clubs, hotels and hot spots have changed

We’ve taken a look back through the decades to see how some of our most popular haunts have changed. See which bars, pubs and clubs have closed and which still reign supreme in our interactive sliders.

Mad Cow and Rambutan have undergone transformations.

Whether it’s the clubs of Flinders Street, the old mall or those extra added little designs around the region, plenty has changed in Townsville over the years.

We’re taking a look back through the past decade of images from Google Street View to see exactly how much has changed as the city has expanded, swelled and transformed.

The first in our series are our pubs, clubs and party hot spots.

While the outside of this abandoned nightclub’s facade looks eerily similar to what it once did during its heyday, Bullwinkles Nightclub has been closed since the late 2010s, along with its sister business that occupied the same building, Sante Fe Gold. Both outlets were owned by businessman Greg Pelligrini, and the building housing them was sold in 2021, but still remains unused.

Sante Fe Gold made headlines in 2013 when the Advertising Standards Bureau found that a billboard promoting the strip club had presented women in “a manner that was subservient and degrading”.

Perhaps the most famous, and enduring, landmark along Townsville’s strip, the Mad Cow is as well known for its raucous atmosphere as it is its ability to outlast its competition.

Sitting at 129 Flinders Street, the Mad Cow has remained more or less the same throughout the years, with touch-ups to its exterior keeping it fresh.

The watering hole was named Townsville’s best nightclub by our readers in 2021, and has been in business for over 25 years.

The Mad Cow’s sister property has gone through plenty of renovations and innovations in the intervening years between 2007 and 2019, but its most complete new face has come more recently, being redubbed Buzuka and having reopened as a trendy, hip, retro cocktail bar accompanied with a mouth-watering menu.

One of Townsville’s most iconic and well-known Irish pubs took a huge gamble in 2015, when it ditched its pokies and gambling machines in favour of more room to relax, kick back and drink. The club sold for over $1.5m just four years later, with the new owners continuing to build and expand on the night-life entertainment side of the business.

The other big name in Celtic-inspired beverages and aesthetics, Flynns actually draws its name from a far more peculiar side of the world. Years before he’d reach fame and fortune as a swashbuckling hero on the silver screen, golden-age Hollywood star and Australian-American legend Errol Flynn reportedly held bare-knuckle brawls at the venue to make his way in life.

The strip itself, while everyone who spent their late teens enjoying the night-life in Townsville’s CBD during the early 2000s will know that plenty has changed in the times since, almost nothing remains of what once sat on the entrance to the nightclub precinct, with new eateries, new businesses and more having since opened or swapped hands.

Upgrades and refurbishments to the building’s exterior and merchandise shop are the biggest changes for the Cowboys Leagues Club since the boys won their maiden premiership. Inside, this year saw the opening of the club’s new sports lounge.

Perhaps one of the strip’s most striking changes. The second image here captures what was once the Cactus Saloon as it was in the process of overhaul and being rebranded 237E, the new, multi-level lounge that opened post-Covid in line with the new stadium.

Once one of the most populated spots on Flinders Street, the Bank now sadly sits completely inert. The nightclub came to an end in 2019, with a termination of lease letter posted to the door and a security guard greeting staff and managers on the morning of September 6.

These eye-catching sculptures used to dot Townsville’s landscape, but this one on Flinders Street, dubbed Spinderella, was sculpted by Museum of Tropical Queensland’s display officer Phillip Smith from resin and other materials.

Midway between these two pictures, in 2015, is when Jupiters Hotel and Casino rebranded as The Ville as part of a $30m revolution masterminded by owner Chris Morris. Now, The Ville is one of Townsville’s premium resort options, with an aim to be powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 and Morris looking to expand with his new luxury hotel addition Ardo opening soon.

Steeped in history, the Heritage Exchange is one of the longest serving hotels still standing in Townsville. The outer veneer hasn’t changed much since its earliest snaps in Google Street View, but it has been tastefully updated to bring it into the modern era.

Standing near the Strand for over 100 years, the Criterion is another sad fallen icon that is soon to be no more. The business closed in 2015, and the building went up for sale last year, with approvals for demolition attached. It’s understood the spot will be used to house part of the Hive megadevelopment.

While the Brewery outwardly resembles its prior self, extensive renovations and upgrades have gone on across, and behind, the facade, and parts of the old Flinders Street Mall precinct can still be seen standing in this throwback image to a simpler time.

Easily the most striking and visible change from how things used to be, the construction of Rambutan in 2014 redefined the Townsville CBD skyline, with its rooftop pool and bar area becoming immediately popular. Since then, under new ownership, the ‘glampacker’ resort has added more eateries and undergone significant renovations.

A new, purpose-built gaming lounge, drive thru bottle-o and more were all added to the Seaview throughout 2020 and 2021 as the popular, waterfront bar and restaurant underwent a $5m makeover.

First built in 1883, the Royal Hotel in Ingham was the product of substantial investment in Hinchinbrook at the time and became known as one of the best hotels in the region. It’s still going strong today, having been awarded national recognition as a wedding venue in 2021.

Originally published as How Townsville’s pubs, clubs, hotels and hot spots have changed