History Of The Gold Coast

Gold Coast History

The first Aboriginal settlers in the Gold Coast region were the Kom-bumerris.  They knew the area as Kurrungul, meaning an abundance of hardwood for boomerangs, and the Bundall area was favoured for their camps because of the fresh water. In 1770, Captain James Cook passed this coast and named Point Danger and Mount Warning. 

The arrival of timber getters saw the first European settlement which began in the mid 1800's.  Their objective was the prized cedar from the abundant rainforests which was floated downstream to the waiting ships. The next influx of settlers were small groups of rural workers managing pastoral leases. Commercial development had begun by 1876 with the establishment of cotton and sugar plantations and Nerang was the first township.

Nerang was, along with Southport, linked to the railway in 1889 and served the needs of a rural population of farmers and timber workers and was a railhead for their produce and supplies. Nerang became the administrative centre for the region with a courthouse, police station and council chambers. 

By 1902 Southport boasted a population of over 1200 people and slowly absorbed many of the administrative functions. Southport became the business centre of the South Coast as well as being a resort town. With the holiday makers came hotel development to accommodate the increasing number of visitors.

The land that eventually became the centre of Surfers Paradise was offered for auction in 1915. At approximately the same time 19,000 hectares of rainforest hinterland was proclaimed as the Lamington National Park. By 1925 hotelier Jim Cavill was building the Surfers Paradise Hotel "on four acres of garden with a private zoo".

At the southern end of the coast Coolangatta, named after the schooner wrecked in 1846, had been established since 1914, and together with Southport became officially known as South Coast in December 1948.

After World War II, the first Australian Surf Championships held in Queensland took place at Southport and Coolangatta.  By 1949 Paula Stafford had launched her daring two-piece bathing suits that become known to the world as the bikini. The years after WWII saw an increasingly affluent population travelling to the South Coast for their annual holidays and its reputation as Australia's holiday capital was established.

Brisbane newspapers in the late 1940s first used the name 'Gold Coast' when referring to real estate investment opportunities on what was then known as the South Coast. By 1959 this lucrative coastal strip was officially known as 'Gold Coast City'.

The Meter Maid scheme began in 1965, with Annette Welch being the first bikini-clad meter maid to put coins into the expired parking meters of visitors.  Sea World opened as the first of the theme parks in 1972 and Gold Coast tourism was well and truly on its way to becoming the thriving business of today.

By 1995 the Gold Coast City area has become the seventh largest city, and one of the fastest growing, in Australia. Approximately 3.5 million visitors are attracted to the Gold Coast each year and the number continues to grow.