The Gold Coast is home to a lot of iconic figures, but none more so than these...

The Glitter Strip is known for its quirky and loveable identities who don’t always make headlines, but make an impact in their communities. Find out who made the list.

THE Gold Coast is full of A-list, B-list and C-list celebrities, Instagrammers, public figures and athletes.

However, this town is also known for its quirky and loveable identities who don’t always make headlines, but certainly make an impact in their communities.

These are the top 10 cult figures of the Gold Coast, in no particular order:

Princess

Surfers Paradise identity David “Princess” Buncombe has been part of the community for 20 years, but has spent much of this time living on the streets.

Princess is known for rocking a pink bikini on the Glitter Strip and is a permanent fixture of the Coast’s quirky night-life scene.

In October, long-time resident and businessman Daniel Yelkovan offered to donate money to help Princess to rent an apartment close by.

But sadly, due to the Coast's housing shortage crisis, Princess is still living on the streets.

In 2014, Princess told the Bulletin he wanted to marry popstar Kylie Minogue.

“I went to Phillip Island and saw a photo of Kylie Minogue in a window and I started to believe Kylie was the girl I was looking for,” he said at the time.

Queen of Florida Gardens

Betty Bromley’s caring and sociable nature made her a well known member of the Florida Gardens community, which is nestled between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

This earnt her the nickname ‘Queen of Florida Gardens’.

Sadly, she died of natural causes earlier this month.

Betty was often seen walking around the neighbourhood, taking care of her dogs Susie and Kirstie, or gathering with friends at the local cafe.

She was so iconic, locals even painted a mural of her likeness with her favourite phrase: “have a nice day dears”.

Dawn Crichlow

Retired Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow at Waitangi Day after receiving a traditional Maori headband and cloak.

Colourful former Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow spent 29 years at City Hall.

Ms Crichlow has long been synonymous with the area she represented and was a common sight in the area, along with her beloved dog Princess Pookie.

Throughout her entire career, she was famous for her stunts and often eccentric approach to solving community problems.

Among her best-remembered are the installation of speakers at bus stops near Australia Fair which played opera music to deter teen gangs from loitering, calls to ban the wearing of neckties on the Gold Coast and a suggestion to have an eagle trained to herd the city’s bat population into the Ernest Junction Railway tunnel where they could be culled.

She left office in late March 2020.

Princess Pookie

Gold Coast Councillor Dawn Crichlow with her dog Princess Pookie in Southport. Picture: Jerad Williams

Dawn Crichlow’s beloved pooch, Princess Pookie, was a cult figure in her own right and considered one of the Gold Coast’s most famous dogs.

The Maltese Shitzu passed away in 2020 at age 16 after years of poor health.

Ms Crichlow first met the pet she would later declare to be her “best friend” in 2011 when her husband Desmond was admitted to De Paul Villa retirement home in 2011 after a stroke.

Princess Pookie had been adopted by the retirement home’s staff and did not leave Mr Crichlow’s bedside during the final two days of his life.

Following his death, she moved in with Cr Crichlow at nights and on weekends but continued to spend time at De Paul Villa during the day.

Ms Crichlow was often seen pushing her dog around in a pram and even developed a Princess Pookie product range of olive oil, pale ale, and honey.

Ian from Burleigh

Gold Coast’s most famous window washer Ian has been cleaning cars on the streets of Burleigh for years.

Ian rides his push bike to the Burleigh Waters and Bermuda St intersection every day from his home to wash residents’ car windows.

In September 2021 his push bike was stolen from his home and the Gold Coast community banded together to find him a replacement.

This prompted an immense amount of love from all locals.

“I love him. Every time I stop at the lights and he is there I make sure my windows get washed. I don’t really care if my windows actually get washed but I love to give him money because he is the epitome of working hard,” a commenter said.

Regina King and Peter Flowers

Regina King and Peter Flowers at their Southport home. Picture by Richard Gosling

The couple are the king and queen of the Gold Coast social scene with their very own gossip column in the Bulletin.

The pair met in 1975 when Ms King, a performing showgirl, single mother and Gold Coast social photographer, was engaged to be married.

Recounting the story of their first meeting to the Bulletin in 2017, Ms King said she was accompanying a girlfriend to Penthouse Nightclub to meet her friend’s secret lover.

“She was having an affair with a married man,” Ms King said.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to go in there’, but she said, ‘Just walk in there with me’.

“So I did and that was when I met Peter who had also been dragged along by the other man.”

With their respective friends otherwise occupied, it was up to Regina and Peter, who was only 21 at the time, to amuse themselves.

One drink was all it took to woo the older woman and the match was made.

The couple have spent more than 40 years capturing smiles and imaginations with their juicy gossip pieces.

Mermaid Beach running man

A local man named Dave earnt the nickname “running man” after he was regularly spotted running up and down the Gold Coast Highway in the suburb of Mermaid Beach.

His signature look is flowing white hair, white shirt and grey pants.

Dave reached peak cult figure status in 2010 when he was the subject of a Facebook group called ‘Have you seen the Mermaid Beach running man’, which asked: “How far does he run? How long has he been doing it? And why?”

The page amassed more than 2000 followers who regularly posted photos of Dave running around the neighbourhood – an expression of their appreciation for the man who they say “deserves a gold medal”.

Tiari O’Connor

The water boy for the Nerang Bulls rugby club is a cult hero in local sport.

His disability carer is one of the team’s star players Winiata Barrett.

The dynamic duo scored a mention the Bulletin’s ranking of Gold Coast Rugby’s Top 100 players in 2021, landing at number 56.

“Perhaps even better than Barrett’s contribution to the team on the field was in securing the services of the Gold Coast’s favourite water boy Tiari O’Connor,” journalist Nic Darveniza wrote.

“The pair are a package deal so Nerang will work overtime to keep Barrett – and by extension, Big T – happy at the club.”

Jimmy Ozturk

Jimmy Ozturk as Hugh Hefner, surrounded by Bunnies Ruby, Halo and Elsa at Surfers Paradise. Picture Glenn Hampson

The Glitter Strip’s longest-serving nightclub VIP promo boss Jimmy Ozturk is marking 40 years in his dapper suits working doors of city bars.

The Turk, who moved to the Gold Coast after marrying Rhonda — a local he met in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul — worked as a model then a VIP nightclub host.

He became a bar scene icon, and in more than three decades worked for most of the major players on the Gold Coast hospitality scene including former nightclub kings Billy Cross and Jamie Pickering.

Mr Ozturk fronted The Penthouse, Rose and Crown and Bourbon Bar plus existing venues Shooters, Cocktails, Central and Players.

His most recent gig has been for Craig Duffy’s Orchid Ave strip club Hollywood Showgirls. He has been its VIP front man since 2004, and is often seen out front streetside into the wee hours.

Follow @Melwhiting

Originally published as The Gold Coast is home to a lot of iconic figures, but none more so than these...