Redlands Coast has played host to tiger tamers, pirates, undersea humanoids and a slew of amateur detectives solving all sorts of heinous crimes.
From Harrow to Hoges, numerous TV and film production companies have used locations across Redlands Coast for filming – sometimes just as they are, and sometimes making them look like somewhere completely different, both in place and time.
Alexandra Hills doubled as the south-central US state of Oklahoma for Joe vs. Carole, while Sirromet Winery at Mount Cotton stood in for the Northern Territory’s Kakadu National Park in the 1980s for the Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story mini-series filmed in 2016.
One of the most dramatic film sets that the city has seen was when Cleveland Point was taken over for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in September 2010.
A 45-metre long, 12-metre-high replica of the film’s titular medieval galleon was mounted on a massive gimbal so that it could pitch and tilt during filming.
The calming waters of Raby Bay are no stranger to international film sets – Angelina Jolie’s 2013 film Unbroken filmed there.
Another fictional vessel – the Dying Gull (aka The Rainbow Gypsy which was a replica of an 1890s Scottish trawler) – sailed into Raby Bay for the filming for Pirates of Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales in early 2015.
On board the Dying Gull was Johnny Depp, much to the delight of locals who swarmed into Cleveland to watch.
Meanwhile, Aquaman’s Jason Momoa emerges from our waters at Point Lookout on Minjerribah in the 2018 action film – although there were some cool background artwork added. Check out the still from the behind-the-scenes video (left) and a still from the actual scene in the film (right).
It is predicted that the makers of Aquaman, directed by Australian James Wan, spent about $100 million on physical production in Queensland. A welcome slice of that landed in Redlands Coast during two separate shoots.
As reported in the Spring 2017 edition of Council’s Our Redlands magazine (pictured), more than 250 vehicles were barged on to the island for the production in 2017, with locals contacted to help create the set.
While shooting of the Aquaman scene took just a day about 40 crew spent the best part of a fortnight on the island to set up and remove the gear needed, including special effects. It followed at earlier shoot at Amity Point in May.
One of the reasons why Redlands Coast is a popular location for filmmakers is its convenient location – situated less than 30 minutes’ drive from the Screen Queensland Studios at Hemmant in Brisbane, and a one-hour drive from the Gold Coast production studios.
It also is one of the few locations in Australia that has calm bay water, idyllic island settings, breath-taking beaches, rugged wild country and a relaxed atmosphere all within one city boundary.
Redland City Council is part of the Film-Friendly Pathways Program coordinated by Screen Queensland. The program helps councils across Queensland to capitalise on the economic impact of the screen industry, by helping them to promote their locations, work with filmmakers and generally look after production teams.
Redland City Council regulates film production in the city through a concierge approach for productions, with permits and approvals to ensure that activities are carried out safely, with minimal disruption to our local community.
The directors/producers of the acclaimed 2017 short film ReFraction were introduced to Council via the Film-Friendly Pathways Program.
Actor and director Mirko Grillini shot much of the film on location in Mount Cotton and North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) in December 2016.
ReFraction featured local cast and crew including Yulu Burri Ba dancers, lead dancer and songman Joshua Walker and Kaleenah Edwards. It received funding through the Regional Arts Development Fund – an Arts Queensland and Redland City Council partnership to support local arts and culture.
On location photos by Hing Ang of Aesop Media reveal how the majestic beauty of Minjerribah was a star in the film in its own right.
REDLANDS COAST ON FILM
Here are 12 other productions that have visited Redlands Coast over recent years:
Tidelands (2018)
Parts of Dunwich and Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) doubled as the fictitious fishing village Orphelin Bay (Queensland’s Best Kept Secret) in this creepy TV series about siren/human hybrids. The Old Courthouse Restaurant in Cleveland was renamed Devil’s Tail Bar for the series which starred Elsa Pataky (wife of Chris Hemsworth) and Aaron Jakubenko (husband of Ashleigh Cummings). Jakubenko returned to Redlands Coast only a year later for the next film on our list …
Great White (2021)
Filmed on location at Raby Bay, Redland Bay and Peel Island in late 2019, the shark survival horror film starred Jakubenko and Katrina Bowden as seaplane operators. Look at our gorgeous photo of them on set wearing Redlands Coast caps, awwww! Less smiles during filming though as their characters were stuck aboard a stranded seaplane miles from shore as two massive great white sharks circled them.
Space/Time (2025)
Parts of this time-travel sci fi film were shot on North Stradbroke Island in 2015. It took 10 years to get a commercial release, but then maybe that’s the consequence you face when playing around with unravelling the whole fabric of space and time. The Aussie film follows a group of scientists developing an engine for interstellar travel who must resort to criminal activity to finance their operation when funding falls through.
In Like Flynn (2018)
Lead star Thomas Cocquerel and director, ’80s music video legend Russell Mulcahy, headed to Cleveland in 2017 to film scenes for their Errol Flynn biopic. In Like Flynn also starred David Wenham, Callan Mulvey and Isabel Lucas.
Love And Monsters (2020)
Again, Sirromet Winery at Mount Cotton got a starring role – this time doubling as a California landscape seen when a small group of survivors emerge from an underground bunker seven years after cold-blooded animals have mutated into large monsters and killed nearly everyone. Scenes were also shot in Alexandra Hills in April 2019, with more than 150 cast and crew dropping into the city.
The Wilds (Season 2, 2021)
Filming for the American drama series about a group of teenage girls deserted on an island after a plane crash was moved from New Zealand to Queensland for its second season. The majority of filming took place on North Stradbroke Island at Point Lookout and near Deadman’s Beach.
Harrow (2018–2021) & Safe Harbour (2018)
Scenes for the first season of the crime drama series Harrow and the four-part SBS psychological thriller Safe Harbour were shot in Redlands Coast in 2017. For Safe Harbour about 300 cast and crew came to the city for three days helping to swell local businesses and creating excitement for community groups such as Volunteer Marine Rescue Raby Bay.
Darby and Joan (2022–2025)
North Stradbroke Island’s Headland Foreshore and Cylinder Beach were used as filming locations in June 2024 for the second season of the popular series starring Bryan Brown and Greta Scacchi. In 2024, Executive Producer Claire Tonkin said it was a “joy” to return to Minjerribah for filming (scenes for season one were filmed on the island in September 2021). “Watching the whales and dolphins playing off the coast while our cast and crew filmed on the pristine beaches was such a special way to start our shoot,” Tonkin said.
Young Rock (2021–2023)
In late 2020, Raby Bay Foreshore Park, Sentinel Court in Raby Bay and a nearby canal residence were shoot locations for season one of the US television series Young Rock about the life of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Night-time scenes were also shot outside the Wicked Brew Café, Dollery Road, Capalaba and on Loraine Street, Capalaba, where the production team put in a temporary bus stop for the shoot.
Joe Vs Carole (2022)
Only a year later, another major US TV series was setting up cameras in Raby Bay Foreshore Park. Base camp for the series about the lives of big cat enthusiast Carole Baskin and fellow exotic animal lover Joe ‘Exotic’ Schreibvogel was in MacArthur Street, Alexandra Hills. But filming was also done in Capalaba, Thornlands and the Raby Bay park. Viewers may be able to spot Redlands Veterinary Clinic in Thornlands during the series.
Undertow (2012)
The Aussie thriller filmed scenes at the Waterloo Bay Foreshore, Wellington Point for two days in September 2010. In a public notice to local residents, the production company said: “The success of the film industry greatly depends on community support and we thank you, in advance, for your patience and understanding during this time. Cast and crew will make every endeavour to ensure minimal impact to all residents of the area during our shoot.”
Lions and tigers and scares … oh my!
Redlands Coast continues to be the dramatic backdrop on the big and small screen.
And that’s a wrap.
