In 1881,108 allotments at Hayes Inlet Estate, Humpy Bong of what is now Clontarf were offered for sale. The Clontarf estate went to auction on 26 September 1882. The sale was widely advertised including a coloured lithograph, showing the sub-division of Dr Ward's sugar plantation and using references to the city of Redcliffe "in the near future" and a regular steam ferry service between Sandgate and Clontarf within months in the newspaper advertisements. The success which attended this sale of the Clontarf Estate led to Clontarf North sale in December 1882. St Barnabas' Anglican Church was dedicated on 5 July 1959 by ArchbishopReginald Halse. It closed circa 1992.
Attractions and features
Clontarf is connected to Brisbane City, across Bramble Bay, by the Houghton Highway which is a 2.7 km long causeway that provides access to the southern tip of Redcliffe City, greatly decreasing the travel time between Redcliffe and Brisbane. The current pair of bridges, Houghton Highway and its twin Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, replaced the original Hornibrook Bridge which is now closed and mostly demolished. Clontarf Beach and Bells Beach are two of the closest beaches to Brisbane City. Pelican Park is known for its kite flying conditions, and a local industry has built around the sport. On weekends, many kites can be seen flying above Clontarf from the Hornibrook Bridge. During May, the Redcliffe Kite Club, based in Clontarf holds a two-day kite event called Kitefest.
Demographics
In the, Clontarf recorded a population of 7,911 people, 50.2% female and 49.8% male. The median age of the Clontarf population was 42 years, 5 years above the national median of 37. 76.2% of people living in Clontarf were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 5.5%, England 5.2%, Scotland 0.8%, Philippines 0.8%, South Africa 0.5%. 90.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.4% Tagalog, 0.4% German, 0.3% Dutch, 0.3% Italian, 0.3% Samoan.
Clontarf's west hosts the largest industrial area in the Redcliffe area, and the area is a significant source of employment for the region. Many residents of Clontarf also commute to Brisbane daily for work. Commuters also travel to Brisbane by Train, as there is now a Train line that connects to the peninsula. Clontarf is host to two adjacent medium-sized shopping centres, on the southern tip of the suburb. Most retail commerce in the suburb revolves around small business however, and there are many stand alone corner stores and other small businesses still in existence. Aussie Traveller, the largest caravan awning/annexe company in Australia now call Clontarf home
Education
Several educational institutions are located within Clontarf: Clontarf Beach State High School, which opened in 1964 and has over 1240 enrolled students, Clontarf Beach State School with approximately 350 students, and a private school, Grace Lutheran Primary School, with approximately 430 students.
Clontarf is served by several bus routes: Route 315, a limited-stops Monday-Friday service to Brisbane City; Route 693, an internal route within Redcliffe City, and Routes 690 and 695 to Sandgate railway station, an approximately 10- to 15-minute commute. All services are provided by Hornibrook Bus Lines. The Redcliffe Peninsula line is a 12 km stretch of heavy gauge dual-track railway between Petrie and Kippa-Ring on the Redcliffe peninsula. The new line is part of the QR Citytrain suburban network, branching from the Caboolture line. It starts 200 metres north of Petrie railway station, extending from to 40.1 km.
