Skarthaborg

Looking for a holiday apartment to rent for a week or more? Would you like your sleep lulled by the susurration of waves breaking on a sandy shore?

The place

Skarðaborg is a holiday rental apartment in Scarborough Seaside Village. That's just north of Brisbane, on the Redcliffe peninsula. It's on the shore of Moreton Bay, in southeast Queensland, Australia.

Above: Looking north along Landsborough Avenue from the southern entrace to Scarborough Seaside Village. Landsborough 65 is the prominent building at the left.

Click the 'Sat' button at top right to view the Google Earth satellite image. Use the Google Maps controls, at top left, to zoom out and move about.

That's the place!

Skarðaborg overlooks Scarborough Parklands, Scarborough Beach, Moreton Bay and, on the horizon, Moreton Island.

Above: View from the balcony to the east (the curvature of the railing is an artifact of the panorama process).

Accessibility

The apartment spreads over two levels. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a dedicated secure covered car park space.

Only the lower level of the apartment - with one bedroom, laundry, toilet, kitchen, and the living/dining space leading to a large balcony - can be accessed without climbing stairs. The upper level of the apartment has a third bedroom, a bathroom and toilet, and the spacious master bedroom and its en suite facilities.

Above: West-east cross section

Bookings

Want to make a booking? Contact:

Andy Castle holidays@maddieshermans.com.au Phone: +61 7 3880 0033 Mobile: +61 430 275 503 http://www.holidaysinredcliffe.com.au

Weather

Skarðaborg enjoys a humid subtropical climate, with dry mild winters (typically 10 - 20° C) and hot humid summers (typically 21 - 29° C). In summer, northerly winds can lift temperatures an extra one degree C.

The thunderstorm season in southeastern Queensland runs from October to April. Only a few of the season's thunderstorms come to Scarborough, mostly mostly in late spring (November) and early autumn (late-February to early March). Such thunderstorms can generate strong winds (67 km/hr on 1 November 2008) and heavy rainfall.

February is usually the rainiest month (160 mm fell in February 2009).

See the Bureau of Meteorology website for Redcliffe weather observations for the past 14 months. The current weather, plus times of sunrise and sunset, is also available at Weatherzone.com.au. Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the past 45 minutes are graphically displayed at Energex.com.au (RCF represents Redcliffe).

The balcony of Skarðaborg faces east. Prevailing winds are mostly from the east, so their breezes usually flow through Skarðaborg. If nature is not providing ideal conditions, Skarðaborg's ducted air-conditioning will deliver your desired conditions.

Swimming

A swimming pool and spa are on level 1 of the Landsborough 65 building, for your use from 7 AM to 10 PM. Adults must accompany and supervise children under 12 years. No pets are allowed in the pool area. The pool is not patrolled.

Scarborough Beach stretches from Scarborough Point in the north to Drury Point in the south. The shore is rocky at both Points – for a comfortable sandy bottom, choose the best place to enter the water from the photo below (for a better view, use the Satellite button in the Google Map to see the Google Earth satellite image). The beach is not patrolled.

Swimming from Scarborough Beach is best at High Tide and during daylight, not after dusk or before dawn. Check today's tide times at Tide-Times.com.au.

Scarborough Parkland and Beach

A row of Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla) separate Scarborough Parkland from Scarborough Beach (see the aerial photo above).

Parkland and Beach jointly won the 2004 Friendliest Beach Award. A big part of the success is due to the Moreton Bay Regional Council (the local government authority) which maintains the beach and park in excellent condition, including grooming the beach sand.

Coastal Cottonwood Trees (Hibiscus tiliaceus) are another plant feature of the parkland. The giant cottonwood trees in the child-safe fenced Pirate Park/Railway Place are popular with children for climbing.

The Parkland is lit at night, with lights ranging from solar-powered security lights to coloured spot lights. Skarðaborg overlooks trees - especially a large Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) - that are highlighted each night with coloured spot lighting. During the summer holiday season, the Parkland hosts other events, including lighting - browse Scarborough Lights for details.

Services within 10 minutes walk

General Store

Daher's 4 Square Value Plus Food Mart, 75 Landsborough Avenue.

Post Office

Scarborough Post Office, 95 Landsborough Avenue.

Newspapers, Magazines, Stationery, Printing, Laminating & Photocopying

David & Nancy Chard’s Scarborough Newsagency, 107 Landsborough Avenue.

Dining (in order from South to North)

The Boat Shed by the Sea, 63 Landsborough Avenue.

Enchilada's Mexican Cantina, 63 Landsborough Avenue. (Evenings from 1730; Sunday lunch 1130–1500, http://www.enchiladas.com.au)

Café Nada, 89 Landsborough Avenue. (0730–1600 daily)

Danny White’s Danny's Scarborough Beach Restaurant, 89 Landsborough Avenue. (Tue-Sat 1100- ; http://www.scarboroughbeachrestaurant.com.au)

Paul Horne’s The Boroughs Café Wine Bar, 97 Landsborough Avenue. (Mon- Fri 1000- ; Sat-Sun 0800- ; http://www.boroughs.com.au/)

Silver Lake Chinese Restaurant, 105 Landsborough Avenue. (Tue-Fri 1130-1430; Public Holidays 1630-2100; Tue-Sun 1630-2100)

Mario Pizzica & Jacqui Paterson’s Rabottini’s Ristorante, 109 Landsborough Avenue. (Tue–Sun 1000- ; http://www.rabottinis.com.au/)

Public Transport

Check the latest on bus routes and timetables by browsing Translink.com.au.

Cityxpress 315 (Redcliffe-City) travels along Scarborough Road to and from Fortitude Valley and the Brisbane CBD. A trip to Brisbane takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. The nearest bus stop is at the intersection of Anderson Street and Scarborough Road (walk south on Landsborough Avenue to Anderson Street, cross to the south side of Anderson, then walk three blocks west on Anderson to the bus stop on Scarborough Road; see map below).

Bus route 680 (Redcliffe-Brisbane City in peak hours, Redcliffe-Chermside off-peak) travels along Landsborough Avenue to and from Chermside, via Kippa Ring, Petrie railway station, and Strathpine. A trip to Chermside takes about 1 hour 45 minutes and from Chermside to Brisbane takes an extra 30 minutes. The nearest stop for buses going to Chermside/Brisbane is on the east side of Landsborough Avenue, close to the intersection with Kennedy Esplanade.

Bus route 690 (Redcliffe-Sandgate) travels from the bus stop on Landsborough Avenue to Sandgate railway station. A trip takes about 45 minutes. The nearest stop for buses going to Sandgate is on the east side of Landsborough Avenue, close to the intersection with Kennedy Esplanade.

On its northbound journey, route 690 buses continue to the Pacific Fair shopping centre at Kippa Ring. The nearest stop for northbound route 690 buses is outside 81 Landsborough Avenue.

The yellow diamond marks the location of Skarðaborg

Slightly further afield

Further dining options

Bay Boats, corner Scarborough Road & Fifth Avenue & North Quay. (take-away fish & chips)

Morgan's Seafood, Bird of Passage Parade. (Seafood restaurant, teppanyaki room, take-away fish & chips, and retailer of fresh seafood; http://www.morganseafood.com.au)

Marion and Demetri Kapitsalas’ Oyster Point Café, 13 Thurecht Parade, corner Oak Street. (coffee, Greek specialties, milk shakes, and steak sandwiches in a relaxed literate setting http://www.oysterpointcafe.com.au Mon 0700-1200; Tue-Sun 0700-1700)

Walks

The Bee Gees: Historical site Walk 1.2 kilometres to 12 Fifth Avenue to see 'Bee Gees Place', one of the three homes on the Redcliffe peninsula of Hugh and Barbara Gibb and their adolescent sons Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb (and Andy Gibb). The family had earlier lived at 394 Oxley Avenue. They later moved to Orient House Flats on Margate Parade.

The brothers called themselves 'The Gibb Brothers' before they adopted the name, Bee Gees, to mark the coincidence of the initials of Barry Gibb, Bill Gates (the 4BH radio DJ who provided crucial early support and airplay), and Bill Goode (who ran motorcycle and car races at the Redcliffe Speedway and let the Gibb Brothers sing over the public address system during breaks in speedway action; Goode introduced the brothers to Gates, who drove in car races at the Speedway). The Redcliffe Museum holds a 1999 letter from Barry Gibb in which he discusses his memories of Scarborough and Redcliffe.

Walking/Cycling paths run north and south from Scarborough Parklands - the paths are marked on the map above as the red dashed line.

Above: morning joggers on the walking/cycling path, with Scarborough Beach behind them

Explore the famous red cliffs that gave Redcliffe its name. Underlying basalt was weathered and then percolating water concentrated iron and aluminium compounds as a red-brown laterite rock layer with iron-rich red soil above. The laterite layer is exposed at the base of the cliffs eroded by sea waves. Pebbles of laterite are also found in the soil. Chunks of chalcedony are sometimes found amongst the eroding laterite. Mining and disturbing the cliffs are forbidden by law.

Above: eroding red cliff at low tide, showing eroded laterite rock layer below red soil rich in iron

In 16 - 31 July 1799, the navigator Matthew Flinders explored and made the first preliminary chart of Moreton Bay, working from the sloop Norfolk. At 10:30 on Wednesday 17 July 1799, Flinders anchored the Norfolk 1.5 nautical miles off ‘Red Cliff Point’ (now called Woody Point); later that day he used the ship's boat to row ashore, landing at Woody Point and Clontarf Point and exploring the mouth of Hays Inlet. See Matthew Flinders, Log of the Norfolk, pages 9-26. Flinders knew today's Moreton Bay by the name 'Glass House Bay'; in 1770, James Cook had used 'Morton's Bay' for the embayment between Cape Moreton and Point Lookout (ie the coast of Moreton Island to the NE tip of North Stradbroke Island). See Lieutenant James Cook, Commander, A Journal of the Proceedings of His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour in a Voyage Round the World, Performed in the Years 1768, 69, 70, & 71, pages 243-4 (Book 3).

The names

Skarðaborg

In about 966 CE, the Icelandic adventurer Thorgils Ogmundarson, better known as Thorgils Skarthi (more correctly 'Þorgils Skarði'¹) because of his cleft lip,² settled with his followers on the coast of what today is northern Yorkshire, England, UK.

Thorgils named the new settlement Skarðaborg (Skarthaborg), after himself. Thorgils is mentioned in an early Icelanders' saga, Kormáks saga (published in English as The Saga of Cormac the Skald and The Life and Death of Cormac the Skald [24 MB download]). The saga focuses on Thorgils' brother, Cormac.

The Skarðaborg site had previously been settled several times, including in the 4th century CE by the Roman army.

Thorgil's Skarðaborg site is now occupied by the town of Scarborough.

In the mid-17th century, members of the new leisured class created by the industrial revolution flocked to bathe in the waters of a spring, promoted by a Scarborough land-owner for its supposed health benefits.

Other Scarborough residents promoted the health benefits of breathing the sea air (in contrast to the polluted air of British industrial cities) and of the then-novel habit, for rich people, of deliberately immersing their bodies in seawater.

The sandy beach of Scarborough was perfect for this new 'sea bathing', with the invention of sex-segregated bathing areas on the beach and bathing machines in the early 18th century. Scarborough became the first seaside resort in Britain. Its popularity as a seaside resort has continued (legal sex-segregation at the Scarborough beach and other seaside resorts in Britian ended at the start of the 20th century).

Scarborough in Queensland, Australia, is one of a half dozen seaside towns around the world named 'Scarborough' to suggest seaside leisure.

The Queensland colonial government opened the Redcliffe peninsula to agriculture and settlement in the 1860s, with a dirt track leading from Brisbane.

In the 1870s, the idea of seaside resorts become established among Australians, based on the same concepts of the supposed health benefits of breathing sea air and bathing in sea water. In the 1880s, Redcliffe and Scarborough had their first real estate boom, including the construction of a hotel at Scarborough. In 1885, a jetty was built at Redcliffe so that steamships could bring tourists from Brisbane; 10,000 people travelled to Redcliffe in 1889-90. In 1925, the first asphalt road leading from an urban centre (Brisbane) to a seaside resort (Redcliffe) - Anzac Avenue - was opened. The road, a memorial to soldiers lost in World War I, was the start of car-based tourism in Queensland. The road also prompted a second real estate boom in Redcliffe.

The expansion of settlement in Redcliffe and Scarborough completed the obliteration of aboriginal cultural expression on the landscape, including obliterating a number of bora rings (sites used for initiation and other ceremonies); the suburb name 'Kippa-Ring' is a reminder of what has been lost.³

Landsborough

Landsborough Avenue is one of about 20 roads and highways (and one creek and at least two towns) in Australia named after William Landsborough (born 21 February 1825 in Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK; died 16 March 1886 in Caloundra, Queensland, Australia).

William Landsborough, the third child of David Landsborough and Margaret McLeish (married 18 March 1817 in Stevenston), migrated to the British colonies in Australia in 1841 to join his brothers who were living in New South Wales. Colonial and post colonial governments in Australia named geographical features after Landsborough to recognise his efforts to open parts of Australia (especially western and northwestern Queensland) to European (ie non-indigenous) settlement. Landsborough's success as an explorer (in contrast to failed explorers such as Burke and Willis) owed much to his reliance on aborigines, as travelling companions and as sources of information, including about the trading routes traditionally used by them.⁴

IP Acknowledgements

Map DataSciences Pty Ltd holds the copyright on the data in the Google Map. The rights of owners of other graphics are acknowledged. Matthew Flinders' chartlet of Moreton Bay comes from Plate IX of Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis, published in 1814, and is held by the National Library of Australia.

1. The rune Þ (thorn) represents a voiceless dental fricative similar to the English th in Thor or thick. The capital rune can be typed on a PC number pad by Alt+0222. Þ has often been misinterpreted as the English letter Y, leading to such erroneous creations as ‘Ye Olde Inn’. The International Phonetic Alphabet represents Þ with θ.

The letter ð (eth) or (eð) represents a voiced dental fricative similar to the English th in them. The small letter can be typed on a PC number pad by Alt+0240. The International Phonetic Alphabet uses ð to represent the sound.

2. The Norse word skarð, 'indentation, notch, gap, or mountain pass', was commonly used as a descriptor for people with a cleft lip or 'hare-lip'. It is inflected to become skarði and skarða - hence Thorgils Skarði = 'Thorgils the Cleft Lipped' and Skarðaborg = 'Skarði's fortified town' or 'Skarði's stronghold'.

Many Vikings had descriptive bynames. Some bynames were derogatory and may have been used only out of the hearing of the person in question (much cited examples include beigaldi “weak, sickly”, beiskaldi “nag, bitch”, breiðmagi “broad-gut”, dritkinn “shit cheek”, eitrkveisa “pus-sore”, inn fíflski “foolish, moronic”, fretr “fart”, gleiðr “bow-legged”, inn halti “halt, lame”, illskælda “bad poet”, inn matarrili “food-stingy”, meinfretr “harm-fart, stink-fart”, and saurr “mud, dirt, excrement”). Other bynames, such as that of Thorgils, seem to have been in use by the person in question. One possible explanation is that Thorgils enhanced his legitimacy as a successful leader of Vikings by self-referring to his obvious facial characteristic: Thorgils was a greater leader because he succeeded in spite of his cleft lip. For much more on the subject, see 'Old Norse Men's Names,' at the Viking Answer Lady website.

3. See the Sydney Morning Herald's 'Redcliffe: Culture and History' and the Moreton Bay Regional Council's 'Our History: Redcliffe District'. The significance of Anzac Avenue is discussed in the relevant cultural history database pages on the website of the Queensland government's Department of Environment and Resource Management.

4. See the entry for William Landsborough in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. On Landsborough's reliance on aborigines as members of his exploration parties and as sources of information to point out trading routes, see this cultural history database entry (about a tree blazed by Fisherman, one of the aborigines in his expedition from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Melbourne) from the Queensland government's Department of Environment and Resource Management.