How iconic Gold Coast shopping centre Pacific Fair has changed since it opened in 1977

THE Gold Coast’s oldest shopping centre is marking 40 years of fun, bargains and ever changing fashions. Here are 5 fun memories of Pacific Fair’s early years and how it has changed.

Pacific Fair in the early 2000s.

THE Gold Coast’s oldest shopping centre is marking 40 years of fun, bargains and ever changing fashions.

And to celebrate, Pacific Fair is giving you the chance to share in $15,000 of prizes, all you have to do is submit a photo of your favourite memory HERE .

Here’s a few of our favourite memories to help jog your memory of the old Pacific Fair before the $670m redevelopment.

The shopping mecca opened its doors to the public in August 1977 when Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister, Fleetwood Mac topped the charts and Star Wars was breaking box office records.

The Broadbeach shopping centre was the Gold Coast’s second, coming a decade after Sundale was built at Southport.

Here are five fabulous memories of Pacific Fair’s earliest days.

1: The Train

The Pacific Fair train in the 1980s.

FROM the early 1980s to the early 2000s, one of Pacific Fair’s longest-lasting icons was its small train, carrying passengers on a scenic tour of the centre.

Part transport, part in-house advertising, the train would stop outside Kmart and would provide the fastest way to move around for just 50c a ride.

The train is one of the most enduring memories of visits to the centre from its early decades.

2: The early shops

The Native American-style shops.

While under construction in early 1977 the centre’s designers were at pains to create a unique destination and this was achieved by creating zones based around different societies from across the world.

Among them was the mock-Tudor area, shops based on native american tee-pees and old-style Australian bush housing.

None have survived to the modern day, with the last replaced during the recent revamp.

3: The early 90s revamp

A 1980s-era artist impression of the food court.

PACIFIC Fair’s famous pink facade was created in the 1990s when the centre was massively expanded, with new shops and new features. Among its most popular was its magnificent food court, featuring stain-glass windows and some of the centre’s heaviest-trafficked eateries.

While the shops have changed, the food hall remains one of Pacific Fair’s busiest areas.

4: Its waterways

Canals at Pacific Fair in the 1980s.

FROM the 1980s to today, it’s hard not to find a large body of water inside Pacific Fair.

In the modern centre a giant fountain and decorative pond fills much of the centrepiece plaza

Back in the 80s and 90s, there was a series of canals and ponds recreating the feel of local rivers and docks.

5: The giant carparks

An aerial photo of Pacific Fair in the 1980s when it had a series of giant carparks.

FINDING a carpark is the eternal hope of any shopper.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s there was no shortage of car real estate, with all sides of the centre surrounded by large carparks.

Gradually those giant stretches of land were reclaimed as the centre expanded, and multistorey carparks replaced them.

The Pacific Fair of today bears little resemblance to its early days.

Now it’s time to submit a photo of your favourite memory! Fill in the form below!

For full competition details, click here