Gold Coast History
Happy 59th Birthday Gold Coast! The Gold Coast has a short but flourishing history. With a population of an estimated 700,000 residents, the Gold Coast is Queensland’s second largest city. However, less than 100 years ago, the Gold Coast city didn’t even exist!
The Gold Coast region remained largely uninhabited by Europeans until 1823. In this time, Governor Brisbane sent explorer and surveyor, John Oxley, north by boat in search of a site for an alternative penal settlement for the most difficult convicts.
On his journey, explorer John Oxley discovered the Tweed River and valley and was deeply impressed. He recorded his impressions, the first description of the Gold Coast, as follows:
“A deep rich valley clothed with magnificent trees, the beautiful uniformity of which was only interrupted by the turns and windings of the river, which here and there appeared like small lakes. The background was Mt. Warning. The view was altogether beautiful beyond description. The scenery here exceeded anything I have previously seen in Australia.”
John Oxley also landed at Mermaid Beach, naming the area “Mermaid Beach” after his ship, the HMS Mermaid. He continued his surveying all the way up to Brisbane, where he recommended Moreton Bay for the advised new penal settlement.
In 1860, Evandale (now known as Bundall) was founded as a farming plantation. Over the next few decades, cotton farming, sugar plantations, dairy farms, and red cedar logging mills would be established.
In 1883, the Southport Pier is opened. Located in the sheltered Broadwater, the pier and its surrounds were an attraction to visitors as well as a way to transport cargo, goods, and passengers to shore from boat. The Southport pier was demolished in 1969, and rebuilt in 2009.
In 1889, the South Coast railway lines expand from Brisbane to Southport, later extending down to Coolangatta. The total population at the time was less than 1000 residents.
At first, no one was interested in the fine surf beaches of the region. It was not good agricultural land and only poor timber grew there. By the end of the 19th Century though, Brisbane people wanted to escape the summer heat, travel down the waterways of Moreton Bay by boat and spend time at the seaside.
A Governor of Queensland, Governor Musgrave, built a seaside home in Southport in 1885, (where The Southport School stands today) setting a trend for the coast becoming a fashionable resort for the wealthy and influential. People would travel in horse and coach along bush tracks, crossing the rivers by ferry and then ride along the beach at low tide. A number of guesthouses and hotels were built at scenic spots along the beach.
A New Century:
In 1902, Southport was originally established as a resort town, as well as a business centre. Southport was a popular secluded holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents.
Hotelier Jim Cavill acquired 25 acres of land in an area known as Elston in 1920, which he renamed to “Surfers Paradise”. In 1925, Jim Cavill opened the Surfers Paradise Hotel located on what would later become the site of the Surfers Paradise Centre which incorporates the current day Surfers Paradise Beer Garden and Hard Rock Cafe. Jim Cavill created the first attraction in the suburb, in opening the hotel and neighbouring zoo. The suburb was officially renamed on December 1st, 1933 after the local council agreed with Cavill and felt the Surfers Paradise name was more marketable.
In 1922, the Southport War Memorial is built. The Southport War Memorial includes a ‘Digger’ statue and was originally erected to commemorate those who served in World War One. An honour roll containing the names of those who served in World War Two was added at a later date.
The Southport Bathing Pavilion, erected in 1934, is one of a group of buildings pivotal in understanding the development of the Gold Coast as a beach resort and in reflecting a new culture associated with beach going. There was unprecedented growth in these areas as swimming and sunbathing became increasingly popular. The majority of the Australian population, by the late 1930s, benefited from paid holiday leave, increasing their leisure time, allowing for more vacations.
Also built that year, following the success of the Southport Bathing Pavilion, The Main Beach Pavilion and Southport Surf Lifesaving Club were constructed on Main Beach at Southport. The Main Beach Pavilion was erected in 1934 and provided public bathing facilities. The Surf Lifesaving Club was built in 1936 and provided dormitory space, equipment shelter and club room facilities for the surf lifesavers.
The Southport Town Hall was constructed in 1935 on the corner of Davenport and Nerang Streets, by the Southport Town Council replacing an earlier timber structure built in the nineteenth century.
A development boom followed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Sea World was founded by Keith Williams in 1958. It was originally known as the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens, which presented “water ski shows that combined comedy, aqua ballet and action”. In 1971, the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens moved to land on the Spit. A year later, the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens became known as Sea World with the introduction of dolphins, marine displays, a replica of the Endeavour (Captain James Cook’s ship), a swimming pool, licensed restaurant and gift shop.
Originally known as South Coast, inflated prices for real estate and other goods and services post-war led to the nickname of “Gold Coast” from the 1950’s. It was officially named the Gold Coast and proclaimed a city on May 16, 1959.
In 1960, the first hotel “Kinkabool” was constructed in Surfers Paradise, and still stands and remains to this day on Hanlan Street.
Many tall apartment buildings were constructed in the decades that followed, including the iconic buildings included the Iluka, St Tropez and The Pink Poodle. Although the Pink Poodle motel was demolished in 2004, its famed neon signage, which was frequently used as an image to depict the glitzy Gold Coast, was preserved and remains on Fern Street.
In 1962, the “Lido Arcade” in Surfer Paradise opens, which offers apartments and an arcade for tourists and holiday-makers.
Due to the rising popularity of motor vehicles, the Southport-Brisbane South Coast railway line closes in 1964.
Councillors agreed to purchase the Evandale cane farm site in 1964 and began construction for the Gold Coast City Council. The population at the time had grown to 80,000 residents.
The Gold Coast City Council officially opened 8 years later, on September 11th, 1974.
A further 8 years after this, the expansion of the Gold Coast Arts Centre opened on December 8th, 1986.
A Livable City:
In 1971, the Point Danger Light is built- a lighthouse to commemorate the bicentennial of Captain Cook’s first voyage in 1770. It is located on Point Danger, a headland between Coolangatta, Queensland, and Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It lays claim to be the first lighthouse in the world to experiment with laser as a light source.
From the 1970’s onwards, the Gold Coast began to modernize and sustain itself as a city, rather than just a tourist destination.
Carrara Stadium, Bond University, and Dreamworld opened up in the 1980’s.
Australia Fair Shopping Center, Movie World, and reopening the railway line to Brisbane open in the 1990’s.
Since 2000’s onwards there has just been a surge and growth of infrastructure such as the notable Surfers Paradise skyline we see today which includes the Q1, Palazzo Versace, Chevron Renaissance Towers, Soul, the Oracle, and the G:Link tram line.
Gold Coast Today
The Gold Coast has come a long way in such a short time, and there’s no doubt there’s still so much more to see and discover, yet to come!
When exploring the Gold Coast, you’ll see places and sights named after those who helped shaped the Gold Coast, from Jim Cavill (Cavill Avenue), Governor Musgrave (Musgrave Park), Mermaid Beach (thanks to John Oxley’s HMS Mermaid), to Elston Restaurant (named after Surfer’s Paradise’s original name).
An eclectic mixture of architecture from Spanish Mission influence, to Art Deco, demonstrates the decades come and gone, built by immigrants, the Gold Coast is a mixing pot of diversity and celebration throughout history.