Gold Coast European Settlement

Captain Cook sailed past the coast in 1770, naming and charting landmarks Point Danger and Mount Warning as a warning to other seafarers. In 1822, Captain William Edwardson, aboard the cutter 'Snapper', first wrote of the Gold Coast, "The whole space between these two points (Point Danger and Point Lookout) is one continued half moon sandy beach".

The area was only really brought to the attention of settlers when government surveyor Robert Dixon noted the plenitude of timber, particularly cedar, when he charted the region between 1839 and 1841. This drew large numbers of timber cutters to the region, as areas previously logged further south were rapidly being depleted.

It is estimated that there were 2,000 white people in Queensland in 1850 but the timber industry swelled the population to almost 33,000 by 1861. This created difficulties as cutters and Aborigines competed for local food, resources and the company of women. Theft became rife and tensions rose as the cutters started to defend their property with firearms.

The first permanent occupation, outside the cutters' shifting camps, was settled in the Mudgeeraba/Tallebudgera Valley region as a cattle property in the 1850s. The first survey of the Queensland/New South Wales border was carried out between 1863 and 1864 and areas such as Woodgee, Bilinga, Wyberba and Mt Cougal were named.

By 1865 the inland township of Nerang was established as a base for industry. Once the land was cleared by loggers, the grasslands were farmed for cotton, cattle and sugar cane. By 1869 settlement had stretched to the mouth of the Nerang River, and the township of Southport was surveyed in 1875.

Coaches regularly made the trip from Brisbane carrying mail communication and the 'Queenslander' newspaper, bringing news to the colonies, and by 1883 the service was run daily to Tallebudgera.

In 1885, Queensland Governor Musgrave built a holiday home on a hill just north of Southport. Other wealthy and influential residents of Brisbane followed suit and so began the area's resort reputation. Initially, rough bush tracks and numerous water crossings made the area difficult to reach from the city, but with the completion of the railway line in 1889, hotels and guesthouses were soon established along the coast.

The railway was continued from Nerang to Tweed Heads in 1903 and by 1910 more than 13,000 people were visiting the Tweed area annually. Local newspapers regularly commented on the scandal of mixed bathing, where women of society would bathe with half naked men, "bereft of shame".*

The population of the area increased slowly until a new road was built along the coast from Brisbane and Southport in 1925. Tourism increased and the Surfers Paradise Hotel was built between the Nerang River and Elston Beach, 2km south of Southport.

Facilities grew along with visitor numbers. Banks, kiosks and movie theatres were established along with a variety of social clubs such as bowls, football and rifle clubs. Joy flights were available from the 1920s, at a cost of more than a week's salary, with pilots using the wide sandy beaches as runways. Another novelty - camel rides - proved quite popular on the beaches at Kirra.

In 1933, Elston residents successfully lobbied to change the name of their town to Surfers Paradise. When the now famous Surfers Paradise Hotel burnt down in 1936, it was quickly replaced with a new hotel, boasting an art deco influence on a much grander scale than the original. The new hotel even boasted a zoo complete with kangaroos.

As automobiles became more reliable and the conditions of the highway improved, holidaymakers increased in number and most of the coastal strip between Southport and, by 1935, most of the New South Wales border had been developed.

The end of World War II brought a new influx of tourists as the returning servicemen flocked to the 'Gold Coast' for a holiday. The local tourism industry grew along with the real estate industry, opening up new developments. By 1958 the local council officially adopted the name 'Gold Coast Town Council', and less than a year later the area was proclaimed a city.

In 1959 the first high-rise apartment building was constructed thanks to the strength of the local building industry. Surfers Paradise had become the leading destination and the introduction of bikini-clad 'Meter Maids' was a particularly popular innovation, further increasing the region's popularity.

During the 1970s the high rise 'boom' continued, complemented in 1981 by the opening of the Gold Coast airport terminal.

The Gold Coast region had become Australia's best known family holiday destination, soaring further during the 1980s with Japanese property investment. Modern theme parks such as Seaworld and Dreamworld added to the general appeal of the region and gave holidaymakers yet more leisure options.

Questionable property marketing and shady business deals damaged the region's reputation during the 1980s and 90s, but by the new millennium the area had regained investor confidence thanks to the real estate boom.

Longhurst, Robert (1996), From Tallebudgera to the Tweed - An Early History of the Southern Gold Coast, Gold Coast City Council, Gold Coast.

Longhurst, Robert (circa 1995), Gold Coast - Our Heritage in Focus, State Library of Queensland Foundation, South Brisbane.

Longhurst, Robert (1991), The Heart of Paradise: the History of Burleigh Heads,Gold Coast City Council, Gold Coast.

*Brisbane Truth (6 February 1910), 'A Trip to the Tweed - Cocky in Clover - Breasting the Breakers - Maids, Matrons and Mixed Bathing!' p.9