Finishing touches put to elaborate ‘The Bluff’ movie set in Helensvale

The finishing touches are being put to a giant pirate ship movie set on the Gold Coast which has echoes of a far north Queensland shipwreck back in 1829. SEE THE PICTURES

Keith Woods

@keithjwoods

less than 2 min read

July 13, 2024 - 9:00AM

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A ship that sunk off north Queensland in 1829 appears to have resurfaced in a car park beside a busy Gold Coast shopping centre.

A mast and rigging were seen this week as finishing touches were put to an elaborate movie set beside Westfield Helensvale featuring a ship named the Swiftsure.

Finishing touches are being put to the set of ‘The Bluff’ in Helensvale on the Gold Coast. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The elaborate set features a large ship called the ‘Swiftsure’. Picture Glenn Hampson

The ship’s wheel was also clearly visible to passing motorists as preparations for filming of Netflix feature The Bluff, starring Karl Urban and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, continued.

Built in 1811, the real-life Swiftsure was wrecked at Cape Sidmouth on July 4, 1829 after sailing from Sydney.

It had previously had a colourful life across the globe, including capture by an American ship in 1814.

Large screens have been erected around the set ahead of the start of filming. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

‘The Bluff is being made for Netflix. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The limited details available so far about the plot of The Bluff suggest it will be a swashbuckling pirate tale set in the Caribbean, with a woman’s “secret past” revealed when her island is “invaded by vicious buccaneers”.

Despite its distance from the sea it’s not the first time a large pirate set ship has appeared in Helensvale, with the main vessel seen in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales constructed just two minutes away in a field off Country Club Drive.

That site is no longer available to film crews, with a more modern form of transport under construction there instead – the long-awaited Coomera Connector.

keith.woods@news.com.au