Skip to main content

Cloudland by James Lergessner

The gigantic Dome style pillars inside the ballroom; views which overlook Bowen Hills, stretching precisely out to the Brisbane River; the haunting recall of young romance; ascending the hill by means of the alpine (funicular) railway; surveying the magnificent 'springy' dance floor; sentimental thoughts of elegant balls, ballroom dances, jives and the stomp; fancy dress school formals; and sitting for their 'uni' exams in the opulent spacious dance hall. There was once a time of innocence at Cloudland, before television, discos, '60s protests, DJ's and, prior to 1957-the huge impact of rock and roll music. But, as American culture swept the nation through television and music, young people sought out fun, freedom, and a little romance at this wondrous fairyland, the gorgeous dancehall on the hill. Many of us danced there; some performed there; and a few were fortunate enough to meet the love of their lives there. When Cloudland was unceremoniously demolished by the Joh Bjelke-Petersen Government on November 7 , 1982, to make way for a block of apartments, what resulted was a loss of romance and adventure in the city of Brisbane. The Deen demolition company put it less kindly at the time: 'The only things we leave behind are the memories'. But it is not only Cloudland's past which may have been altered, forgotten and then lost to the world. Peoples' 'nostalgic' time there was also missing, akin to an unreclaimed, lost recollection. Always remember that the present, as with the past, can be rapidly undone, too.

Format: Paperback