Jazzland Dance Hall, also known as Jazzland Dance Palais, was a dance hall located in Coolangatta, Queensland. The venue was built in 1928 and was used as an entertainment venue throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Though no longer used for dances and social events, the building remains at the western end of McLean Street at the intersection with Griffith Street. The former dance hall is listed on the Gold Coast Local Heritage Register as a rare surviving purpose built ballroom built in Queensland, Australia during the interwar period and in acknowledgement of its role of the social life of the region. It is also recognised in the Coolangatta Local Area Plan for its heritage and character components. In 2002 the building was considered for the Queensland State Heritage Register but was not listed.
History
In the early 1920s, jazz floors and jazz halls began to appear in Coolangatta, Queensland following proposals to improve the foreshore and a venue known as Jazzland is known to have been operating immediately before the Christmas and New Year's holiday season in December 1926 with dances being recorded on both the 24 and 25 December 1926. This time period coincides with the opening of a number of dance venues in the region, including the Pier Theatre with its large dance floor in Southport, Queensland at the northern end of the coast. The 1926 holiday season was a busy one in Coolangatta, Queensland when at least one of the '...jazz floors [was] thrown open for jazzing at an early hour, and continued open throughout the night...' without the permission of the local Council. In ongoing court cases, The Diggers Hall is mentioned by name, as is a Mr. Cahill of the Capitol Theatre.
Mr. Joseph Michael Cahill, who owned the leases of the nearby Capitol Theatre and Empire Theatre, and his wife Rose, a pianist, were involved with the jazz scene of the region before 1928. Mr. Cahill was also a member of the local Coolangatta Town Council and a committee member of the group of citizens lobbying for jazz floors and skating rinks on the foreshore in 1924. In late 1926, Mr. Cahill had disposed of his interests in the Empire Theatre and newspaper articles from the same period start referring to Cahill's jazz floor though the location is not specified. It is known that radio broadcasts were taking place at Cahill's jazz floor in the days immediately before the first reported dances at a venue called Jazzland. Mr. Cahill was involved with both.
In May 1926 Mr. Cahill applied to the Coolangatta Town Council to build a jazz hall in the main street of Coolangatta, Queensland and approval was given in November 1926. In 1931, the sale of the 'Jazzland block' was reported as having been made to Mr. Cahill a few years earlier, in 1927, for £3,200 with later improvements totaling £700. While some jazz evenings and dance events occurred at the Capitol Theatre, Mr. Cahill was certainly responsible for the eventual construction of a timber building measuring 85 feet by 40 feet called Jazzland that was officially opened in the presence of local dignitaries on the 9 November 1928 on the western end of McLean Street. This first dance hall was built from local timber and had alcoves along each side with a fernery planned for one side. One of the earliest functions in Jazzland was a dance to benefit the Kirra Surf Life Saving Club. Over 100 couples were on the dance floor and a euchre party took place in the garden annex. The room was decorated in the colours of the club with gold and blue ribbons and the electric lights were shaded in the same tones.