Tour Mackay’s buildings, the closed down landmarks
They were once thriving businesses, iconic landmarks and places to party. Now these ghost buildings are the stuff of broken dreams. Take a tour inside the region’s lost landmarks.
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They’re the inspiration for unfounded rumours, imaginations run wild, and what-if possibilities; the Mackay region’s many abandoned, shuttered, or closed without explanation businesses and buildings.
There’s a former nightclub smeared with vandalism that for locals is both an eyesore they would rather hide from tourists and a Pandora’s box they’d really like to see inside of after 10 long years of mystery.
Then there’s an creepy old, abandoned motel complete with holes in the wall and a decrepit baby’s crib, along a road nicknamed the “Horror Stretch” after a few murders.
Some deserted buildings are nestled in the rainforests of the Pioneer Valley near popular waterfalls while some you can only get to by boat or helicopter.
There are dozens upon dozens to choose from but the following 25 are some of the most intriguing:
Finch Hatton Gorge Cabins and River Rock Cafe
The idyllic cabins situated next to the picturesque Finch Hatton Gorge with its natural waterfalls, has reportedly been shut since Covid arrived on our shores.
The rainforest-based accommodation starred on the Queensland Weekender TV show after a film crew visited in early 2017.
While the leaseholders earned a reputation for delicious wood-fired pizzas, it’s understood they decided to leave after a rent increase amid Covid.
A review left on TripAdvisor in 2019 stated the cabins at 730 Gorge Rd had “basic facilities” with no internet or phone service, but the location was “five stars” with a “natural running creek on your doorstep with beautiful gardens”.
Now, you wouldn’t know the cabins existed unless you paid careful attention to the sign welcoming you to Finch Hatton Gorge.
Urban Wave and Skate
The sale racks of surfwear lining the pavement of Gregory St in Mackay’s CBD were a staple for decades but they have quietly slipped away.
Urban Wave and Skate is shuttered with the premises now available for vacant possession, complete with residential residence on the floor above and a warehouse and carport to the rear.
Owner Keith Burston, who formerly owned the now-closed Dames and Dandies on nearby Wood St, told this publication in late 2020 that opportunities in the CBD were vastly underestimated compared to shopping juggernauts like Caneland Central.
“We wouldn’t go into a shopping centre in a fit,” Mr Burston said.
He said the city was being overlooked despite its significant foot traffic and lower rents, adding many empty shops were in “bloody disrepair”.
Gordi’s, Envy, Zebar Nightclubs
The once popular party hotspot in Mackay’s CBD has been shut since at least early 2013.
Gary Choy, who owned the Gordi’s, Envy and Zebar nightclub at 89 Victoria St, said at the time that ongoing structural problems with the century-old building had forced his hand to leave.
Following Mr Choy’s departure, Mark McGrath of McKays Solicitors said the landlords were renovating the building.
Mackay-based Meng Jing Luo and Hong Xia Wu bought the property in 2015, with no visible progress made on the building in their subsequent eight years of ownership.
The former nightclub has seemingly fallen further into disrepair, with vandals tagging the outside in graffiti and breaking glass, while inside the ceiling has sunk, and a mobile cell phone gathers dust on the floor.
It is understood to renovate the building would now cost at least $400,000.
Many have accused Luo and Wu and other owners of vacant Mackay CBD buildings of “land banking”, a practice where owners purchase investment properties with no specific plans for development.
Luo and Wu have an extensive property portfolio that includes the Tropical Phoenix Garden Restaurant next to the Bluewater Lagoon in Mackay, a business complex in Blacks Beach, and more than a dozen residential properties across Mackay, the Whitsundays, Burdekin and beyond.
Luo and Wu declined to comment.
Kohuna Beachside Resort
Ask any Mackay local and they’ll tell you Kohuna has tremendous potential if only someone could push the right buttons.
Situated on the Bucasia beachfront at 1 Griffin Ave, the two-level restaurant at the Kohuna Beachside Resort has been run by numerous people who pack up shop just months later.
One such instance was the Aloha Restaurant and Bar, whose patrons had open access to the resort’s multiple pools.
Those pools are now for private resident access only, and the restaurant is now a gym.
Some assert things went downhill from a tourism perspective when during the mining boom, many of the villas were turned into freehold properties.
The management rights to the resort were sold for $2.7 million in 1998 to an entity titled the Body Corporate for Ko Huna Beachside Residential Community Titles Scheme, which directs inquiries to Archers Body Corporate management.
Archers were contacted for comment.
Ulysses Garden Cafe
Rainforest growth shrouds what was once a popular spot to stop off on the way to Finch Hatton Gorge.
The cafe at 723 Gorge Rd in Finch Hatton shut down with little fanfare some years ago with reports the owner is battling medical issues.
“A little bohemian paradise renovated with recycled, up-cycled, reused materials and filled with eclectic pieces of preloved furniture and crockery,” was the description given of the cafe on Visit Mackay, Isaac’s Facebook page.
The cafe offered alfresco dining with fresh bread baked daily, including fermented sourdough, and food made from organic and chemical-free produce.
Now the interior looks as though someone got halfway through packing and gave up, with a near-empty shelves, cooking equipment scattered on the table, and a lonely My Little Pony toy.
Outside, a vase of now-dead flowers still sit atop the table, with empty chairs gathering dust where customers once sat.
Paper Chain Book Sales and Exchange
Thousands of readers hold fond memories of rummaging through the stands and shelves at the Paper Chain to find their next book.
Well-known Mackay family, the Cominos, have owned the building at 8A Sydney St for close to three decades.
Vassie Comino, who leads the P Comino & Sons shop next door, said Pat McNamara ran the Paper Chain Exchange until retiring.
She said Pat had recently passed away.
Mrs Comino revealed the empty shop was currently under contract, so it was a matter of “watch this space” to see who will revive the property with its stained-glass architectural features harking back to Mackay’s pioneering days.
Mackay Event Cinemas
Time is ticking for the abandoned cinemas along Gordon St.
A group of allies are trying to save it from impending doom, but so far have had no success.
Buildings owner Event Cinemas has approval to demolish it, saying it was “considering options for the future use of the property”.
Sugar City Art Deco and Modernist Society chairman Nicholas McDougall said it was a shame Mackay could lose a vital part of its history, with the building the last of the region’s art deco-era cinemas, and the first in the state to have had airconditioning.
Mr Dougall said the society had pleaded with Event Cinemas for a chance to head inside and document the building’s architectural details, including the original mosaic tiles, and portholes from the projection room.
He said it was disappointing to receive no reply, adding they’d heard rumours toxic mould had permeated the building.
Defunct TV Station
The bold red stripe wrapped around the abandoned TV station at 216-218 Victoria St is a reminder this property was once home to 7 News.
It has been on and off the market since at least 2017, with the current asking price about $1.65 million through Colliers International.
It is a sizeable figure when you consider Mackay Television Ltd sold the property to Sunshine Television Network in September, 1997, for $0 under an “extraordinary circumstance”.
The land alone, with 2054sq m fronting onto both Victoria and Wellington St, has been valued at $1 million.
The interior of the former broadcasting station has been described as a “warren” with some asserting 7 News chose to relocate a few doors down to reduce operational costs.
Kevin’s Place
Kevin’s Place was synonymous with Mackay’s dining scene and it was hard to imagine the CBD foodies’ precinct without it.
Nonetheless, the once-thriving restaurant on the corner of Wood and Victoria streets suddenly shut in August, 2019, with customers left wondering why, and when it would re-open.
It was later revealed the business was effectively forced to close after “defective” toilet facilities located on the floor above, and used by an adjacent restaurant, damaged the property and sparked a public health concern.
Anytime Fitness
When Mackay Anytime Fitness permanently closed in 2020, the events to follow were unfortunate.
Townsville Anytime Fitness franchisee Troy Cooper paid $144,000 for the shuttered gym’s equipment, which he planned to take back to Townsville.
Just days before moving day, criminals broke into the building on the corner of Brisbane St and River St to ransack about 30 machines and a 500kg sun-bed.
The damage was cleaned, the remaining machines were emptied out, and a while later, a stationery supplier occupied the premises.
It wasn’t long before they also left, and the building has been empty ever since.
Pioneer Valley Hotel
The Gargett watering hole is one of a few old pubs between Mirani and Eungella, west of Mackay.
In the early months of Covid, the pub was shut “temporarily” which has morphed into indefinitely.
“I am sorry to disappoint my local customers,” Donna posted on the business’ Facebook page on June 26, 2020.
She has since advised she is no longer the licensee and another family member, Gloria Paul, was now in charge.
The stools inside wait in anticipation under the bar and the fridge is still covered in an assortment of stickers.
There is no prospective reopening date for the pub but Mackay region councillors Justin Englert and Alison Jones believe it can easily be revived once the Pioneer Valley Mountain Bike Trails are up and running.
As a sign of investor confidence in the trails, Mackay-based business Corry Cycles has bought a premises next to the nearby Finch Hatton pub.
Brumby’s Bakery
The Mackay city bakery was closed indefinitely after an early morning blaze on July 20 last year caused “extensive fire, smoke (and) water damage”.
A worker had been inside the Sydney St store when flames erupted in an oven, with the equipment almost two years later still inside.
The owner of the store declined to comment.
Nicks (formerly Hatties) IGA
Old-fashioned fair-dinkum service had Hatties IGA carve out its own success and keep customers coming back each week for 40 years.
The supermarket along Shakespeare St shut down in late 2020, with owner Nick Habgood later selling his other IGA store on Bridge Rd to the Peries IGA group.
Mr Englert said when the supermarket ran under the Hatfields name, it was the “biggest independent grocery store in North Queensland for a decade”.
Now plants and weeds are growing unchecked, pallets and a truck are the only things in the carpark, and a cockroach is the supermarket’s only visitor.
The actual premise at 15 Moore St is owned by Nathan Strange, of Surfers Paradise, who paid $3.91 million for it back in October, 2012.
The 1470sq m property has been on the market for 200 days now at $4.5m plus GST through Colliers International.
Roadhouse and Motel, Horror Stretch
Before the Bruce Highway, there was the ‘Horror Stretch’ – an apt nickname given to Marlborough Sarina Rd, west of Mackay.
Along that stretch, also known as the Crystal Highway, there is an abandoned roadhouse and motel that is the perfect backdrop to a horror movie.
A rickety baby’s cot lines up against tattered wallpaper, smashed walls lead from one room to the next, and the outback setting gives it Wolf Creek vibes.
Did we mention there were unrelated murders nearby?
Commonwealth Bank
The baby trees could soon be yanked out of the gutters of the derelict old bank as signs hint to the property being put on the market.
Mayor Greg Williamson said a homeless person who had been sleeping inside the former Commonwealth Bank on Victoria St had recently been moved on.
“I understand that the owners tried to get in with valuers to do a valuation on the property (in March),” Mr Williamson said, adding this signalled the owners were preparing to put her up for sale.
The heritage-listed property is Mackay’s oldest commercial building and arguably, its biggest eyesore.
The last time she received some TLC was in February, 2021, when former owner Graeme Arman did work to secure the exterior.
Mr Arman died later that year and it’s understood his family spent months trying to sort out his estate.
Mr Williamson said Geoff Baguley, the last builder to work on the bank, valued the restoration costs at upwards of $3 million.
“There’s a lot of work to go into that building,” Mr Williamson said, adding it was unlikely the council would propose buying it.
He said he knew of two private parties that had expressed interest but remained tight-lipped on identities.
A new wheelie bin outside, windows open upstairs, plus a rather rudimentary mailbox attached to the security fencing, are further optimistic signs Mr Arman’s next of kin will sell the building.
Healthpoint Day and Night Chemist
The family-owned chemist on Sydney St was not only your go-to for medical supplies but also giftware with its late-night hours handy for those last-minute presents.
After decades of service to the region, the store at 65 Sydney St shut to customers in 2019.
Some believe the business fell victim to competition as bargain-angled chemists like Chemist Warehouse started popping up in the CBD.
The empty property has been listed for sale, with Knight Frank agent Tristan Ware saying it had sparked a lot of interest and even a few offers.
It last sold in October, 1992, for $416,034, and was previously listed for sale in late 2012 for $5.5 million.
Watch this space.
Oscar’s Cafe and Bar
Oscar’s shut last year after its owners couldn’t find enough staff, including a chef.
While many had hoped it was “temporary” as had been advertised, the cafe seems to be shut for good.
The property, which includes an outdoor dining area, has been listed for lease with all the equipment still left in the kitchen, and the chairs and tables stacked in the indoor dining area.
This is another case of watch this space.
“It’d be nice if (Oscars) did come back as I miss having breakfast there once a month with a girlfriend,” Mrs Jones said.
RetraVision
When the Good Guys came to town, RetraVision left.
The prime piece of CBD real estate at 14-20 Wood St has for the most part remained empty since.
Mackay Regional Council bought the building in late 2014 for $1.485 million from John and Heather Carroll Pty Ltd and then briefly leased it out to My105FM for $3000 a month.
It’s understood the building was then in a dilapidated condition.
“It (the building) was originally purchased to be the (new) library before the old Centrepoint building was donated to council and the library was put there instead,” Mr Englert said.
“It’s now a piece of land open to any development interest for the (Waterfront) Priority Development Area.”
The building is unlikely to be knocked down to make space for a high-rise, as the nearby Mackay Airport restricts maximum building heights.
It is understood there was a push to relocate the airport south, for example to Rosella, but the airport is privately owned and it is for the owners to decide.
Super Amart
Nothing quite screams vacant like a 5000sq m building covered in white paint with zero signage.
The former Super Amart building at 1 Highway Plaza in Mount Pleasant next to the Bruce Highway has sat empty since 2018 after the retailer relocated to the old Bunnings building in Greenfields Boulevard.
The property is up for lease or sale by negotiation, with nearby 7-9 Discovery Lane, where Snap Fitness used to be, also up for lease.
And so for now, the building stays, despite there being a rumour floating around that it would be demolished to build an overpass that would connect the Bruce Highway to Mackay-Bucasia Rd to skip the traffic near Mount Pleasant shopping centre.
Laguna Quays
China-based Hong Kong company, Fullshare Holdings Limited, bought Laguna Quays Resort in 2013 for $3.3 million.
It also owns the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Golf Club in Port Douglas and the Five Seasons Hotel in China.
The company has stated it is holding on to the 30sq km Laguna resort to build a “world-class destination” for 15,000 people which will include an “international airport, five world-class hotels, a casino and entertainment centre, two 18-hole and one 27-hole golf courses, and 860-berth marina, a tourism-related organic farm, a shopping and retail area, a conference centre, a cruise terminal, a retirement and vacation village and other real estate residential developments.
“The project mainly targets to the ever-increasing Asian tourist market, while to provide comprehensive community facilities to the neighbouring mining towns,” its website states.
Fullshare has on more than one occasion declined to respond to this publication’s requests for comment.
Mrs Jones said the “failed” Laguna Quays development was the reason hundreds of Midge Point residents now suffered from water sediment issues, as the council had “in the day built a massive pump station” to cope with what it had anticipated would be a lot more water going through the pipes.
Lindeman Island Resort
White Horse has owned the lease over Lindeman Island, which once housed a Club Med resort, since 2012, buying it just months after it was shut down post-Cyclone Yasi.
The resort was last upgraded in 1992 and is in a derelict state after Yasi, as well as Cyclone Debbie, unleashed their wrath.
The abandoned Club Med is now eerily post-apocalyptic with stockpiles of appliances, upturned furniture, a drum left on stage, and algae blooming in the pool.
White Horse had received approval to build a new $600 million luxury resort on the island but after a decade-long debacle, it instead went into sale negotiations with prominent Queensland developer Shaun Juniper and his wife Samantha late last year.
The couple had negotiated to buy the island for $10m but then unexpectedly pulled out of the deal earlier this year.
The inquiry into Queensland’s islands resorts revealed the island’s power, water and sewerage infrastructure was “rapidly deteriorating” with the jetty demolished in the wake of Cyclone Debbie.
Happy Bay Resort / Club Crocodile, Long Island
There are pictures to prove Happy Bay Resort was once a hip place to be with its bright blue pool and customers lined up at the bar.
But now the pools are a putrid shade of yellow, the rooms look more like a low-budget jail, and weeds have run rampant.
This publication earlier learned Whitsunday Regional Council was working with the new owners of the resort, Sydney-based Oscars Hotel Group, in an aim to have the resort operational in “the short-to-medium term”.
The Queensland island inquiry stated Long Island’s jetty and access boardwalk were not operational with access currently via beach landing.
Brampton Island Resort
Brampton Island Resort was a jewel in the state’s tourism crown until the two brothers behind United Petroleum bought it in 2010 for $5.9 million.
It was shut down the next year, and they promised the Mackay council they would build a luxury seven star resort in its place, but nothing has ever come to fruition.
And so the pool continues to fade away into the ocean, the buildings keep decaying, and the groundsperson earns their keep reportedly shooing away busybodies who land on the beach.
Now recommendations handed down in the island inquiry could force the brothers to either follow through on their promises, or relinquish their hold on the island. Read about it here.
South Molle Resort
Did you know the Chinese-based owners of the popular Daydream Island Resort also own the abandoned resort on South Molle Island?
China Capital Investment Group bought the freehold resort in an “as-is” condition back in 2019 but have yet to spend any serious money on making it the world-class, five-star tourist resort it promised.
In fact, the inquiry revealed that despite the state government chipping in to help rebuild the jetty destroyed by Cyclone Debbie, CCIG had not removed the damaged buildings.
Former Queensland Parks and Wildlife ranger Ten-Haken, in his submission, said the fact South Molle was home to one of the “best and biggest resort anchorages in the region … (it) says a lot about the cost of rebuilding such resorts”.
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