Headlands Chalet on Minjerribah [with artist couple Marshall Malouf and Colin Millar 1989-2015]
WHAT
Communal Queer Space and accommodation, Breezebrick Surfside Disco, Event Venue, Artel, ARI,
WHO
1989-2015
Artist couple, custodians and facilitators Marshall Malouf and Colin Millar.
Previous owners include Hollins Compton, also a queer artist in his own right, a chef and ‘host with the most’, who ran Headlands prior to Marshall and Colin.
WHEN
1989– 2015
WHERE
WHY
Headland Chalet was an artists’ retreat, making space and a holiday accommodation resort situated above Main Beach. with 13 Cabin “Bedrooms”, 5 Baths, on 1,262m² .
It was accessible from both North Lane and Mooloomba Road. The site comprised two separately titled blocks. Lot 402 was 587 square metres, and Lot 403 was 675 square metres; a total of 1,262 square metres.
Headland Chalet had excellent sea views to the south east, down Main Beach. The Chalet comprises thirteen communal cabins, and a communal kitchen with Quandamooka views, There was also one self-contained bungalow with two bedrooms used as an artist studio. The property has a communal kitchen.
It had a small but well-maintained swimming pool which much like the Headlands itself, was a living, and evolving artwork, transformed by many artists over the decades.
Alongside the pool as living artwork, there was cabana, with library and lounges, for relaxing, reading and making. The decor was always vivid, vibrant and colourful and the venue was an ever changing collection of artefacts, artworks and ephemeral affects. Many regulars enjoy this assemblage-like, or wunderkammer-like character.
It was a queer, friendly, safe, island space, with revolving Bohemian, Hippy, Oceania, Indigenous, retro, surfie and backpacker influences, surrounded by a fecund leafy sub-tropical garden with temple-like ornamentation, giant buddahs and stone work, and quiet places to rest, pause, and contemplate.
.
Headland Chalet first opened in 1935. It operated then as a popular getaway and holiday guest house, and has been offering accommodation to artists, artist groupings, queers, sunseekers, and holidaymakers continuously since the 1930s. The origin,and use of the term Chalet is unknown, some believe this is due to the hillside and slopey terrain where it is situated and a reference to alpine terrain in Switzerland, and European countries. It is located on Minjerribah.
Minjerribah is the traditional Aboriginal name for North Stradbroke Island, and it means “island in the sun” in the Jandai language. The Quandamooka people, the traditional owners of the island, have lived there for over 20,000 years.
The Quandamooka people are made up of three clans: the Nunagal, Goenbal, and Ngugi. The Nunukul people are part of the Quandamooka people and are from Minjerribah.
The island is rich in cultural history, unique indigenous cultural practices, women’s weaving techniques, and diverse ecological habitats, and is home to many species of flora and fauna that are unique to Australia. The Quandamooka people have consented to including much of their native title lands in Naree Budjong Djara (My Mother Earth) National Park.
The island was named in 1827 by British naval explorer Captain Henry Rous after his father, the Earl of Stradbroke. However, the Quandamooka people need the island to be better known by its Aboriginal name.