Celebrating 50 Years of Bribie Island living

Celebrating 50 years of loving Bribie Island!

Recently the "50 Years" sign (on the foreshore walking path at Brennan Park) which had been facing into the weather since 2007, was replaced with a new sign.

01: Celebrating 50 years - Ted & Pat; 
Stella ; Sally ; Kling family
Photo taken by Lynne Hooper.

02: Celebrating 50 years - Margo ; 
Frank ; Betty ; Tesch family
Photo taken by Lynne Hooper.

In 2005, residents who had lived a continuous 50 years or more on Bribie Island were interviewed. All have made a lasting contribution to the island’s community. 

TED & PAT

‘Fifty years ago, when Past and I were married, we settled permanently on Bribie. The place was paradise – there is no other description for it’. Ted Clayton.  (italic text)

It was on Bribie Island that Ted’s parents fell in love in the 1920s. Ted had spent holidays here, even periodically attending the primary school.

After marrying Pat in 1954, they moved to Bribie Islands and raised three daughters and a son. Carpenter, Ted built the family home at 11 South Esplanade. He built the furniture as well. Ted was also General Foreman during the Bribie island bridge construction.

The couple ran the Bait and Tackle Store. Ted’s fishing skills became legendary. In 1970, he began a 20-year stint writing for the magazine, ‘Fishing World’.

To view the 2007 sign details - Ted and Patricia Clayton
http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-ted-and.html

STELLA 

After the war in 1946, newly-weds, Stella (nee Aroney b. 1919) and returned solider, Percival Ray arrived on Bribie Island. They purchased land at 4 Spowers Street (for around $45 in today’s currency) and erected two small ex-army huts. They, along with daughter, Glenda lived there without electricity, running water or sewerage before completing their new home in 1980.

In the early days, the couple ran a boat hire business and caught and sold yabbies. As tourism grew, Stella worked in the boarding houses, cafes and take-away shops.

Bicycle Stella: The family never owned a car, so Stella rode her bicycle everywhere. At the age of 75 she was hit by a car but recovered to continue her active life.

To view the 2007 sign details - Stella Ray

http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-stella-ray.html

SALLY

Beautify tree-lined Brennan Park, where you stand today, is named in recognition of the community service shown by Sally and Bernie Brennan.

Sally (‘Sarah’ nee Herbert, b. 1920) and Bernie Brennan settled into Bribie life a year after marrying in 1940. Sally was the daughter of publicans – she was born in the hotel they ran in Sandgate. The family had also lived on Bribie Island for a few years in the 1930s.

Sally and Bernie raised three boys. They opened ‘Brennan’s Store’ in 1945, using a small wooden house they had purchased in Toorbul Street (almost opposite this sign).

The store sold a wide variety of goods and produce, proving very popular with holiday makers, most of whom in those days pitched tents along the foreshore. The family ran the shop for 33 years.

Gold Ticket: In 1965, Brennan’s Store sold a winning Golden Casket Lottery ticket to Island resident, Stella Ray.

To view the 2007 sign details - Sally Brennan

http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-sally-brennan.html

KLING FAMILY

Three members of the Kling Family may hold a record for the longest continuous Bribie residency: Mavis arrived 1920, Fred, 1935 and son, Peter, 1945.

Mavis (nee Ormiston) was born on Bribie Island in 1920. In 1937 she married baker, Fred Kling who had arrived here for work.

During the Second World War troops moved onto Bribie Island. Residents, aside from those few who could service the troops, were evacuated. The Kling family purchased the Island’s bakery from Tom Read, (who had operated it since 1931) and supplied baked goods to the troop here and at Toorbul Point.

The bakery was located at 18 Banya Street for 55 years. When son, Peter took over the business, it was relocated to Cornett’s Arcade on Welsby Parade. Peter retired in 2001.

Community dedication: Aside from running the bakery, Fred was a 1949 founding member of the Bongaree Bowls Club, and their other son, Richard, became a doctor to the Island’s residents.

To view the 2007 sign details - The Kling Family
http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-kling-family.html

MARGO

Margo was one of the first pupils to enrol in the new Bribie Island State School in 1924. Generations of Margo’s family all attended the same school. 

In 1918, at the age of six, Margo (Madeline) Whitney’s family moved to Bribie Island. Father, George worked in road construction. He helped construct the road from Bongaree to Woorim using coal cinders from the furnaces on the ss Koopa.

During WWII, when most residents were evacuated from the Island, Margo stayed and worked in the local stores and a temporary hotel (relocated from Woorim). After the war, she opened a shop at Mac’s Corner on Third Ave selling fruit, vegetables, poultry and fabric.  In 1962, she opened ‘Pretty Girl’ frock salon in Toorbul Street, and in 1970, ‘Coast Casuals’ in the new shopping block on First Ave. For 87 years Margo contributed much to the character and commercial development of the Island. She was also a founding member of the Bongaree Ladies Bowls Club in 1952.

The ‘Twelve Apostles’: These were holiday huts that once lined this foreshore. Margo, her two sisters and mother, Louisa lived in one for a while.

To view the 2007 sign details - Margo Whitney

http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-margo-whitney.html

FRANK

Frank Lee’s knowledge of commercial fishing contributed to sustainable fishing practices for Bribie Island.

The Lee family arrived on Bribie in 1953 when Frank was a young boy. It was fishing that caught Frank’s interest, and he immersed himself among the Island’s fishing community.

Frank became a commercial fisherman. Over the years his knowledge and experience of environmental and conservation fishing grew and he opened his own training company for sustainable fishing practices and accreditation. 

Island burial: Frank’s father was a soft drink manufacturer. He became one of only two buried on the Island. When the land was wanted for development, he was exhumed and relocated to the mainland.

To view the 2007 sign details - Frank Lee

http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-frank-lee.html

BETTY 

After serving in the British Air Force during the war, Betty (b. 1920), along with her mother, arrived in Australia. It was 1951.

They were following Betty’s younger sister who had married an Australian solider and were now living in Caboolture. A couple of years later Betty met Horace Lougheed, a keen fisherman and they moved to Bribie Island.

Here Horace became involved in property and building. Their home at 179 Welsby Parade was known as Avalon. It was set opposite the bay, although in those days wind-beaten trees and swamp bushes obscured their view to the water. Today, the home has an expansive bay vista.

Duck Inn: In the early days, Betty’s local store (now Cornett’s Supermarket) was nick-named the ‘Duck Inn’ – you had to duck in, as the doorway was set below street level.

To view the 2007 sign details - Betty Lougheed

http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-betty-lougheed.html

TESCH FAMILY 

The Tesch family have made a huge contribution to Bribie Island, including running a cinema, a barge service and an electrical repairs business. 

Ben and Myrtle Tesch ran a cinema in Caboolture n the 1930s. Their son, Ivan, became their projectionist. The cinema was working round the clock during the war years entertaining the troops.

After the war the family moved to Bribie Island and Ivan married Clare. They built a unique round house at 17 Banya Street in 1950.

In the 1950s the Tesch family set up a cinema in the Anglican Church Hall where Clare played the organ during church services. The cinema moved to its own premises in Cotterill Ave, but attendance waned as TV’s popularity grew. It closed in 1973.

Ionosphere: In 1967, the University of Queensland established an ionospheric Research Centre on Bribie Island to monitor signals in the upper atmosphere. Ivan was their laboratory manager for the electrical workshop, a position he held for 18 years.

To view the 2007 sign - Ivan and Clare Tesch
 http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/50-years-on-bribie-2005-ivan-and-clare.html

At the bottom of the sign in a coloured band.

For more information about celebrating 50 years of loving Bribie Island, visit www.bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com or email bribieislandhistoricalsociety@gmail.com

Research by historian and Rotarian, Barry Clark to commemorate the centenary of Rotary International in 2005. Moreton Bay Regional Council would like to thank all families for generously donating their memories.