No more bang for your buck, brothel closes

THE number 13 might be the unlucky undoing of Mackay’s only legal brothel, Club 7 on Enterprise.

Mackay's only legal brothel has closed its doors. Picture: THINKSTOCK

THE number 13 might be the unlucky undoing of Mackay's only legal brothel, Club 7 on Enterprise.

The brothel is reported to have closed its doors - exactly 13 years after the day it opened.

The Daily Mercury's investigations reveal that while signs on the front doors state "closed for renovations", it is believed to have closed for good as of midnight July 6.

A former Club 7 service provider, who asked not to be named, told the paper yesterday although some workers had been told the business would reopen in about a month, it wasn't likely. The service provider said up to 12 women worked at Club 7 on a regular basis.

The brothel, Mackay region's first, was operated by businessman Bill Beale.

It opened in 2002 amid controversy and protest; among the most vocal was then Member for Dawson De-Anne Kelly.

She, along with action group, No Brothel Mackay, protested with placards and there were reports of threats to photograph patrons.

At the time The Mercury reported the brothel, then named The Loaded Gun, boasted a Roman room, Egyptian and Japanese settings, a jungle room an a dungeon.

Residents and prospective patrons had a chance to inspect it during an open day on July 6. Attempts to gain comment from brothel management were not successful.

Originally published as No more bang for your buck, brothel closes