Controversial Keppel Beach Club bar unexpectedly closes its doors, but locals are not surprised

A Great Keppel Island bar funded by Tower Holdings has suddenly shut up shop weeks after it launched, but it comes as no shock to locals.

A controversial Great Keppel Island beachfront bar that’s only a month old has become a ghost town, leaving its umbrellas closed and deck chairs stacked for more than a fortnight.

It was only a short time ago that Keppel Beach Club was serving cocktails and mojitos to its customers metres away from the Fisherman’s Beach shoreline, but now the tourist attraction is looking more like an eyesore.

The hip waterfront bar which sported “good vibes all around” is currently sitting lifeless with no indications suggesting when – if ever – it will reopen.

But while its sad sight has come as a disappointment to some visitors, the majority of locals see the bar’s closure as a win after weeks of guest’s causing trouble and noise pollution.

What the Keppel Beach Club looks like now after being abandoned. Picture: Supplied / Michael Powell

Since its launch just before Christmas last year, Keppel Beach Club has angered residents due to its parties generating loud music late at night and several incidents involving a lack of toilets.

Local Michael Powell is a member of community group Great Keppel Alliance Ya Nga, which has been advocating against Tower Holdings – the developers which funded the bar – for some time.

The building corporation also owns the Great Keppel Island Resort which they purchased in 2006 for $16.5 million before it shut down two years later in 2008.

Mr Powell told news.com.au that on New Year’s Eve, Keppel Beach Club’s patrons were causing a ruckus after the Livingstone Shire Council closed the beach’s public toilets.

Because the bar has no on-site toilets, revellers that wanted to relieve themselves were urinating off the beach’s deck into the sand.

“The men were peeing on the deck and the women were peeing in the burnt part of the bush and the next morning there were tissues everywhere,” Mr Powell said.

The remains of the burnt food truck which still hasn’t been completely cleaned up. Picture: Supplied / Michael Powell

But this wasn’t the only incident that occurred. It was only a week before that a food van hired by the company caught on fire on Boxing Day.

“In order to get around the Livingstone Shire Council’s Health Department food by-laws, Tower Holdings simply hired a self-contained food van,” Mr Powell said.

“That burned to the ground the first time it was used. A fat fire caused 2 gas bottles to explode. The charred remains, and burned out vegetation on the foredunes, have still not been cleaned up.”

“That’s another Tower environmental disaster that has to be cleaned up by somebody else.”

Locals also questioned the validity of the bar’s liquor licence due to the closure of the resort.

However, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) has since told news.com.au that Keppel Beach Club is operating under a hotel liquor licence as it’s within the Great Keppel Island Resort’s licensed area.

“The Great Keppel Island Resort has maintained a hotel liquor licence since it was issued on 1 June 1978. However, it has not been actively trading for the entirety of that time. On 21 December 2022, the Keppel Beach Club started trading under that existing licence.,” an Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation spokesman said.

As for whether the office had been informed of the bar’s closure, the spokesman said: “We are instructed that the current closure is temporary”.

Keppel Beach Club was serving cocktails and mojitos just days before it shut. Picture: Instagram / @keppelbeachclub

While it’s unclear why the bar has been shut down for over two weeks, Mr Powell has his speculations.

A source told the well-respected Great Keppel Alliance Ya Nga member Queensland authorative figures were believed to be seen at the premises a day before the venue closed.

“They shut up immediately the next day, packed up everything and now they’re gone,” Mr Powell said.

“To my knowledge the place has not opened since.”

News.com.au contacted Queensland Police to confirm whether they attended the venue prior to the bar’s closure, however a spokesperson verified it wasn’t them.

The club's night time party atmosphere didn't get the tick of approval from all locals. Picture: Instagram / @keppelbeachclub

Meanwhile, the Livingstone Shire Council said they’ve received no formal advice suggesting why the bar closed.

“We’re not anti-development. I would have gone over there personally and helped them paint the joint but there were no permits,” Mr Powell said.

“No level of government knew this was happening until our community group rang and told them.”

“We never ever want to see a situation where a single developer holds tourism on Great Keppel Island or in this region to ransom.”

Tower Holdings has also been contacted for comment. The last time Keppel Beach Club showed any signs of life on their social media was on January 22.

Great Keppel Island Hideaway Bar and Bistro is still open for business along with a number of other businesses on the island.