Gold Coast Area Information

As Captain Cook sailed past the East coast of Australia in 1770, he named two distinct landmarks, Point Danger and Mount Warning. Around a hundred years later the area which is now known as the Gold Coast was placed on the market. At this time it was just an array of lagoons, creeks, rivers and mangrove swamps. Just ten years later the area became a popular destination for holiday makers. Cobb & Co began a coach service from Brisbane and in 1889 a rail link was built between the coast and Beenleigh. Southport was first surveyed in 1875, the location was known as Nerang Creek Heads. 1917 was the first known reference to Surfers Paradise, when a Brisbane real estate company Arthur Blackwood attempted to sell subdivided blocks in Elston as the 'Surfers' Paradise Estate'. However the auction was unsuccessful due to difficult access. Prior to being named the Gold Coast, the area was known to local Aborigines as "Umbigumbi" and "Kurrungul".

In the 1920’s, businessman Jim Cavill orchestrated growth in the region when he developed the Surfers Paradise Hotel. The site for the Hotel was in Elston, a suburb now called Surfers Paradise! Mr Cavill purchased the site for about forty pounds ($200). In 1925 to coincide with the construction of a road linking Brisbane to the Gold Coast, the Jubilee Bridge was constructed to replace the original horse ferry which crossed the Nerang River. Then in 1933 Elston (formerly named Meyers Ferry) was renamed Surfers Paradise. Property prices started to rise sharply after World War Two, as developers ceased the opportunity to cash in on the post war boom.

It was in the 1950’s that people started referring to the area as the Gold Coast, after a journalist referred to the area as the Gold Coast because of the rising property values at the time. It was around this time that many of the famous canals were developed in areas such as Bundall, Sorrento, Benowa and Broadbeach. There are 860 kilometres of navigable tidal waterways. In 1958 entrepreneur Keith Williams first opened Sea World, which was originally called Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens and was located at Carrara. It provided water ski shows that combined comedy, aqua ballet and action.

In 1971 the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens was relocated to its current location on the Spit at Main Beach. Significant dredging works helped create a massive new ski lake where ski shows have thrilled visitors ever since. In 1972 Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens was renamed Sea World and dolphins, marine displays, a replica of the Endeavour and other facilities were added. In the 1960’s the Esplanade at Surfers Paradise had been completely built out, with modern three storey walk ups and High Rise buildings. There were still many fibro shacks gracing the Esplanade until the late 1970’s and early 1980’s when development boomed and buildings such as Apollo, Chateau, Focus and Iluka were completed. In 1981 after seven years, John Longhurst’s 210 acre theme park Dreamworld was opened at Coomera. In 1991 Warner Brothers Movie World was established on the Gold Coast at Oxenford, the event attracting such stars as Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.

Today Queensland's Gold Coast is Australia’s sixth most populated city, its beach stretching for 40 kilometres from Coolangatta to Main Beach. According to the latest census, the Gold Coast’s population is 472,280 and consists of mostly couples with children (41%) and couples without children (41%). According to the 2006 Census there are approximately 173,247 dwellings on the Gold Coast. 64% of these are houses, 18% are semi-detached dwellings (town-houses) and 17% are units. 29% are owned outright and 34% are under finance. 28% of rents were between $275 and $349. 35% of the population is employed on a full-time basis. 28% of all Employees are employed in Clerical, Administrative or Sales positions. 74% of people use a car to get to work and only 1% use a bicycle and 1% use a train!