About Surfers Paradise

About Surfers Paradise

History

Jim Cavill and Surfers Paradise

Around 1920, Brisbane hotelier, Jim Cavill acquired twenty-five acres (10 hectares) of land in an area known as Elston - the place we know now as Surfers Paradise. The name Jim Cavill is always connected with the history of Surfers Paradise. However, to understand the full story, we need to first look back at an earlier age.  

 Farming Days

In 1869, James Beattie was one of many first selectors or farmers to travel down to the South Coast and Hinterland. Beattie settled south of an area which the Kombumerri  people called Jarri Parila (today's Narrowneck). He selected 80 acres on the northern bank of the Nerang River. The location of his farm was not far from the future Cavill Avenue. Beattie built a shingle-roomed cottage, a barn for his produce and a jetty on the river bank. Around him, farmers were  just barely surviving on their farms or selections, growing crops such as maize and sugar cane.

 Meyers Ferry

A German immigrant called Johann Meyer acquired Beattie's land in 1877. He developed a short-lived sugar plantation and mill on the property. Meyer quickly found as many would in the future - there was  money to be made in providing accommodation and services to visitors and travelers. He built a private ferry service over the Nerang River as well as the Main Beach Hotel near the river bank in 1887. He financed his new ventures by selling at auction in Brisbane, The Main Beach Estate. A Brisbane syndicate subdivided the land and named the newly surveyed streets (sandy tracks) after world champion scullers of the day: Edward Hanlan, Edward Trickett, Elias Laycock and Thomas Clifford. The remainder of the sugar plantation was auctioned as the Newhaven Estate in 1888.   

 Visitors and Travelers

By 1888, a horse and coach service was operating from Southport three times a week. The coach crossed the Nerang River at Meyers Ferry and then traveled along the beach. Johann Meyer's family operated a horse and buggy service from the Southport hotels, offering visitors a pleasure trip to the Main Surf Beach. In 1889, Meyer's Main Beach Hotel was declared a postal receiving office, officially titled Elston. A postal address meant an official place name and a mark on the map. People would still refer to the place for a long time as Meyer's Ferry.  

A village called  Elston

The Postmaster in Southport, a Mr Palmer, named the receiving office near the surf beach after his wife's home village in Nottinghamshire, England. By the 1890s, the first entrepreneur of the area, Johann Meyer faced financial ruin and after he died in 1901, the Main Beach Hotel licence lapsed. Elston was without a hotel until Jim Cavill built the Surfers Paradise Hotel in 1925.   

Second  Land Auction 

As early as 1917, a Brisbane real estate company, Arthur Blackwood Ltd offered for sale the 'Surfers Paradise Estate'. The auction was unsuccessful, partly because access to the area was still difficult. It was a great promotional name though and  in Jim Cavill's day, he lobbied strongly to have the name Elston changed to Surfers Paradise.   

Opening the Jubilee Bridge and building the South Coast Road 

The nearest railway station to Elston was located over the unbridged Nerang River at the town of Southport. The opening of the Jubilee Bridge in 1925 (celebrating 50 years since the first auction of land at Southport in 1875)  and the extension of the South Coast Road brought a revolution to the South Coast. Motor cars could now travel along a road which bordered the seaside villages of Elston and Burleigh Heads. Estates such as Ocean Wave, Northcliffe, Mermaid Beach and Miami Shores were promoted as sure fire investments. Investors and visitors needed a place to stay on the coast and in 1925, three hotels, the Surfers Paradise, the Miami and the Burleigh Heads Hotel opened to take advantage of a tourist boom.  

Surfers Paradise

In 1925, at a relatively isolated spot near a long white surf beach, Jim Cavill opened his 16 bedroom hotel at the intersection of the South Coast Road and the old coach track which ran from Meyers Ferry to the beach. Around the hotel, the township of Elston came to life as local people re-opened the post office, provided refreshments and facilities for campers and holiday-makers. A man with a keen eye for promotion, Jim Cavill, with the support of locals, lobbied hard until the place name Elston was changed to the more glamorous Surfers Paradise in 1933.     

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Beaches

Surfers Paradise Beach

Australia is known for its stunning coastline, golden beaches and tourist destinations but none is better known around the world than beautiful Surfers Paradise beach located on the Gold Coast Australia. 

Australia is known for its stunning coastline, golden beaches and tourist destinations but none is better known around the world than beautiful Surfers Paradise beach located on the Gold Coast Australia.

Surfers Paradise is the place to be if you want a beach holiday in the heart of the Gold Coast. The beach, one the Gold Coast's most popular surf beaches, covers 3km of coastline.

Surfers Paradise weather is primarily warm to mild which makes this stretch of Queensland's coastline perfect for surfing and swimming. However, it has so much more to offer than just its magnificent beach.

At Surfers Paradise you will find a great range of accommodation to choose from.

The shopping and attractions alongside the coast are excellent and the strip is alive with activity from dawn to dusk and all hours in between. For family entertainment, you can't go past Ripleys in the Mall.

Surfers Paradise Holidays are all about surf and city right on your doorstep and visitors are invited to set their own pace and choose to do as little or as much as they like. Your stay would not be complete without accommodation in Surfers Paradise.

For great options, check out Surfers Paradise apartments and hotels, and Gold Coast beach resorts such as the world's highest residential tower, Q1 Spa and Resort located in Surfers Paradise. Surfers Paradise is predominantly flat so walking is a great way to get around and another reason to book your accommodation here.

Visitors also have the option of the Surfers Paradise bus service, car and taxi. 

Beach & Water Safety

We’re proud of having Australia’s largest professional lifeguard service to protect our beaches and promote surf safety message throughout our schools and community. For more about our Lifeguard Service call (07) 5581 6172.

For the safety of swimmers, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries has also implemented a shark control program along our Gold Coast beaches.

For safe beach going...

• Swim alone or surf at beaches not patrolled by Lifeguards or Lifesavers
• Bathe outside the red and yellow flags that mark safe swimming areas
• Bathe directly after a meal or under the influence of alcohol
• Bathe when the beach is closed. (Observe the sign "Danger- Reserve closed to bathing" and the red flag)
• Bathe when there are no safety flags
• Panic if caught in a current or undertow, but raise one arm straight up and float until help arrives
• Struggle if seized with a cramp, but raise one arm for help, float and keep the affected part of the body still
• Go out far when a yellow flag is flying- it means the surf is dangerous
• Bathe if unsure of safe conditions, but seek advice of the nearest Lifeguard
• Struggle against a rip or current, but swim diagonally across it

Flags and signage

• Always swim between the red & yellow flag on patrolled beaches
• Always read the Flags and Safety Signs and understand what they mean before entering the water

It is important to read the Flags and Safety Signs and understand what they mean before entering the water.

Red Flags
Dangerous conditions - do not enter the water

Yellow Flags (Caution)
Swim with caution

Swimming Prohibited

Surfboard Riding Only

Surf Lifesavers patrol the beach every day of the year, from 8:00 AM to 5:00PM.  

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Business Overview

The triangle from the Gold Coast Harbour to the north, Bundall to the west and Broadbeach to the south, centres on Surfers Paradise which is universally acknowledged as the heart of the renowned Gold Coast coastal high-rise strip. This area accommodates many international visitors and is a major business centre. Because of international tourism, there are large amounts of investment and business interest in the Gold Coast, with extensive investment occurring in tourist related activities including themed attractions, hotels, shopping centre, Conrad Jupiter’s Casino and the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.  

Key Business Statistics  

Gold Coast Statistical Snapshot  

The Gold Coast is larger than most people think.

It is Australia’s 6^th largest city with a current population of over 517,000 and the fastest growing population of any city or major region in Australia.Over 12,000 people arrive here each year making the current Gold Coast population growth 3 times the national average.  

The Gold Coast is a city as separate and distinct from Brisbane as Canberra is from Sydney.   Almost 59% of the population is under 45.    

Gold Coast Business Survey - Pacific Innovation Corridor 2007  

SURFERS PARADISE

A total of 2,911 businesses were identified as being in the Surfers Paradise Pacific Innovation Corridor (PIC) Centre in April 2007. Of that total, a randomized sample of 120 businesses provided responses and another 88 chose not to respond. Surveys were directed at the owner/manager of the business and 91.7% of respondents fitted that description.  

The median age of businesses was 11.5 years. Eighty eight percent of businesses surveyed were headquartered in Gold Coast City. Over half of the businesses (54.1%) operated under a company structure. Another twenty percent were partnerships and 19.2% were sole traders. Smaller numbers of businesses were trusts or not-for-profit community organisations. Just 5.8% of businesses operated under a franchise arrangement. Eight in ten businesses (80.9%) were service providers, 17.5% were retailers, 3.3% were manufacturers and 3.3% were wholesalers. Just 7.5% reported exporting goods or services, mostly to New Zealand-Pacific Islands.

Median annual turnover for all businesses in the Surfers Paradise PIC Centre in 2005-06 was $400 thousand and anticipated to be $400 thousand again in 2006-07. Half of Surfers Paradise businesses reported that all of their trading revenue was derived from within the Gold Coast. Almost half of businesses (49.6%) sourced 75% or more of their inputs from the Gold Coast, with 31.6% reporting that 100% of their inputs were from the Gold Coast.

Overall, 97 businesses (82.9%) reported at least some business inputs from within the Gold Coast region. Of those, the median proportion of inputs was 90%. Over half (56.7%) of the businesses employed 2 or fewer full-time staff and 71.7% employed fewer than 5 full-time staff. Slightly more than one in ten businesses (11.7%) employed 20 or more full-time staff.

Business Stability, High Profit Rates and High Productivity were the most important enterprise objectives for Surfers businesses.   

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Current Developments

Building a Better Paradise  

The Surfers Paradise Traffic Management Scheme (SPTMS) is a multi-million dollar road project to build a better paradise by improving the tourism, commercial and residential appeal of the Surfers Paradise Business Centre and ensuring its economic prosperity.

The Surfers Paradise Traffic Management Scheme was conceived in 1998 as a result of increased traffic volume in the Central Business District of Surfers Paradise, and the subsequent negative impact on the pedestrian and commercial street environment and local access needs. View the artist's impression of the completed works.  

The Surfers Paradise Traffic Management Scheme (SPTMS) is a multi-million dollar road project to build a better paradise by improving the tourism, commercial and residential appeal of the Surfers Paradise Business Centre and ensure its economic prosperity.  

The outcome is the diversion of north and south bound through traffic along a 2.5 kilometre section of the Gold Coast Highway through Surfers Paradise CBD between Higman and Fredrick Streets, to Ferny Avenue and Remembrance Drive and create a slow moving, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly road along Surfers Paradise Boulevard (the current southbound road) with calmed traffic, better parking, improved streetscaping and more relaxed atmosphere in the Surfers Business Centre  

Stage One works comprising a central 1.2 kilometre section between Cypress Avenue and Clifford Street was completed in September 2003. Ferny Avenue was widened to four lanes - two north and two south - while Surfers Paradise Boulevard was reduced to two lanes - one north, one south in this section.  

Work on the Southern Stage is now finished. These works consisted of road reconstruction and widening, stormwater drainage, street lighting, traffic signals supply and installation, service relocation (power, gas, water, sewage and telecommunications), signposting, line marking and streetscaping.  

Construction on the final milestone of the Surfers Paradise Traffic Management Scheme – the $9.4 million Northern Stage between Cypress Avenue and Higman Street – was awarded in November 2005 and construction commenced in January 2006.  The works are now completed. Construction on Ferny Avenue included relocating and upgrading services such as gas, sewerage, electricity, communication and other works such as road widening, kerb and channel.  

The works allowed for bi-directional flow – Ferny Avenue became four lanes – two north and two south – while Surfers Paradise Boulevard has been reduced to two lanes – one lane north and one south. The integration of this final section with Stage One and the completion of the Southern Stage in early 2006 has improved traffic flow and reduced congestion, particularly for Surfers Paradise Boulevard. The Boulevard has become a friendly road with better parking, visual amenities and a stress-free, low speed pedestrian friendly street. Themed landscaping was undertaken for Ferny Avenue to complement Stage One and the current Southern stage works.  

The SPTMS was a multi-million dollar road project to build a better paradise by improving the tourism, commercial and residential appeal of the Surfers Paradise Business Centre and ensure its economic prosperity.  

The Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government have completed a joint feasibility study of a proposed light rail project on the Gold Coast. The decision is not yet finalised. However, public transport will either be a Light Rail, a Busway or both. Detailed assessments are underway to determine the best public transport system.  

For traffic enquiries, please contact Council's Traffic Management and Operation Branch on (07) 5581 6255.

Surfers Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment  

Surfers Paradise is world-famous and has long been considered one of Australia’s most attractive tourist destinations both nationally and internationally.Combined with the myriad of tourists visiting Surfers Paradise each year, the growing population of the Gold Coast and the South East Queensland region, Surfers Paradise struggles to cater for the growing numbers and significant events due to a lack of public spaces and facilities.With an increasingly competitive tourism market and population growth, it is vital that Surfers Paradise’s infrastructure be improved.  

Council endorsed the Surfers Paradise Foreshore Masterplan on 8 June 2007.The Masterplan identifies areas that will transition the landscape from an intensively-used Urban Plaza Zone to an Urban Park Zone, followed by Urban Beach and Dunal zones.In total the Masterplan extends from Clifford Street to View Avenue.  

As part of the Masterplan endorsement, Council resolved that the Urban Plaza zone be treated as a priority area for upgrade.Contained within the Urban Plaza is Juniper Development Group’s Soul development, which has an approval condition to upgrade a significant portion of the Urban Plaza zone.An Operational Works application has been lodged with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and if the approval is granted, it is estimated that these foreshore works will be complete by December 2009.  

Upon completion of Juniper’ s foreshore works associated with the Soul development, the Urban Plaza zone will be approximately 50% complete.  

Council is exploring further funding options to continue the revitalisation of Surfers Paradise foreshore and is aiming to source funding and complete construction of the remaining Urban Plaza zone within the next 2 years.Other zones along the foreshore should be completed, providing funding can be sourced, within a further 5-10 years.

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Economic Opportunities

Opportunities  

Significant growth in the national and international Business Tourism market from the visitors to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre adjacent Conrad Jupiter's Casino at Broadbeach 

Extensive private investment capitalising on the revitalisation of Surfers Paradise through the Heart of the City project. 

Further development of the southern Broadwater and the Gold Coast Harbour as an icon, with a focus on recreation, entertainment, activities and events, including options for cruise liners, large cruising yachts and other craft. 

Development of a distinct character for Broadbeach through the Local Area Planning process. 

Growth in major sporting and other events, such as Indy and Magic Millions. 

Increased connectivity to the major commercial centres through an updated traffic management program. 

Beach Culture, lifestyle, surfing and fashion.

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Map

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Tourism Statistics

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Councillor

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State Member

 

John-Paul Langbroek believes in hard work and getting things done.

 

As a long-time resident, John-Paul is passionate about Queensland. Having grown up in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, John-Paul has watched the Gold Coast grow up from a beachside holiday town to the sprawling city it is today. For more than 20 years, John-Paul and his family have called the Gold Coast home.

 

Having been educated in the public school system, John-Paul learned the value of hard work at an early age. As a child he dreamed of becoming a dentist so he studied hard in order to get into university. After graduating from Sunnybank High, John-Paul went on to study at the University of Queensland, receiving an honours degree in Dental Science.

 

After finishing university John-Paul, like many young adults, travelled to the UK to live and work in London. When he returned to Australia, he and his wife Stacey decided to settle on the Gold Coast, opening a small dental surgery in the heart of Surfers Paradise.

 

As a small businessman and health practitioner, John-Paul is well aware of the issues affecting Queenslanders and has a strong desire to see Queensland be the best and most prosperous place it can be.

 

Since being elected in 2004, John-Paul has been a vocal advocate for the Gold Coast, rallying the Bligh Government for improved public transport and roads, a better public health system and more police officers. John-Paul has worked hard to ensure the Gold Coast gets a fair go from the State Government, and he was instrumental in bringing in new laws cracking down on underage binge drinking and banning dangerous drug implements such as 'ice' pipes.

 

In Parliament, John-Paul has held numerous shadow portfolios including Health, Education, the Arts, Police and Corrective Services, Public Works and Housing, Employment and Training, Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.

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Federal Member