Beach Court and the Lido at North Bondi

Image from the collection of State Library of New South Wales

Beach Court and the Lido at North Bondi

Recently we were telling someone about the seamy nightclub that used to exist at the north end of the beach. They looked at us like we were crazy. This is for them.

In 1920 Beach Court was built on the corner of Ramsgate Avenue and the Bondi Beach promenade at North Bondi. With its great location right on the beach, this complex of flats, refreshment rooms and a dance hall became a popular local venue. Tiny’s Dance Hall opened in Beach Court soon after the building was completed, and initially it had quite a respectable reputation. It was very popular and on weekends people queued outside to get in.

Beach Court’s reputation started to slide in 1932 when the new owners became Alexander Ernest Anderson, notorious criminal dentist Freddie Goldsmith and the ‘flamboyant’ medical practitioner Dr. Reginald Stuart-Jones. During the 1930s Stuart-Jones was involved in numerous illicit businesses, including illegal gambling (particularly horse race ‘fixing’), sly grog and drug dealing, partnered in these various activities by Sydney’s most infamous criminals. He was known to them as ‘The Doc’ and many of them were grateful for his discreet treatments after gun battles.

The new owners turned the Dance Hall into a nightclub and renamed it “The Lido”. Patrons could expect after-hours alcohol, drugs and access to prostitutes. Later, during World War II, it became a popular place for visiting American servicemen to let their hair down.

All part of Bondi’s colourful history.