Gold Coast: How Surfers Paradise evolved into the world-famous ‘Glitter Strip’

The identity of the city today known as the Gold Coast took nearly a century to shape. This is the incredible story of how it became the “Glitter Strip” of Australia.

The identity of the city today known as the Gold Coast took nearly a century to shape.

Timber and rural activities were the major economic drivers of the mid-to-late 19th century as the townships of Nerang, Coomera and Mudgeeraba took shape in the years following the late 1850s.

But even as these industries took off, the beauty of the region’s golden beaches were seen as an ideal place to come, for day trips or more.

Palm Beach in the early 1900s provided a smooth ride for horse and buggy travellers. Picture: Supplied

The number of people keen to come to the region for work or play was so great that the railway was extended from Brisbane to Southport in 1889.

There are stunning photographs of the early tourists of that era riding in horse-drawn buggies on the beach at Burleigh and Palm Beach.

The Southport Railway Station

Further north, the golden beaches just east of the Nerang River in a location known at the time as Elston began attracting attention in the early decades of the 20th century.

The name Surfers Paradise first appeared in 1917 when Brisbane real estate agent Arthur Blackwood began selling land in the beachside suburb of Elston.

He dubbed it the “Surfers Paradise Estates”.

Hotelier Jim Cavill bought up 10ha of land in the area and built his Surfers Paradise Hotel in 1925.

It became the epicentre of the suburb’s activities the same year Mr Cavill teamed up with fellow local Charlie Walsh to found the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club.

The name Elston wasn’t popular with many locals and a name change was proposed.

The Surfers Paradise Hotel

The state government wanted to call the area Sea Glint but Mr Cavill, after years of lobbying, convinced bureaucrats to select Surfers Paradise.

A legend was born.

By the 1950s, the region was officially known as South Coast and the first high-rise – Kinkabool, was built.

It had already picked up the name ‘Gold Coast’ as a nickname on the back of soaring property prices.

While initially seen as a pejorative, the area’s residents quickly adopted the name Gold Coast as their own.

The identity of these beachside areas became built around a certain cheeky nature, bold and colourful ideas, big characters and often surreal attempts to promote it.

Bernie Elsey Picture: Supplied

Notably, the Coolangatta Chamber of Commerce commissioned a song in 1953 to advertise the area, leading to the release of the famous single It’s hot in Brisbane but it’s Coolangatta.

Similar songs were commissioned again in the 1970s and 1980s.

The city increasingly became known by its nickname, with the South Coast Town Council adopting it in October 1958.

The city name was officially changed to the Gold Coast in May 1959 with the State Government of the day gazetting it, beginning a new era for the nation’s fastest-growing city.

Gold Coast Chevron Motel in the 1960s

Looking back decades later, the name-change was seen as a masterstroke by figures of the era, including long-time real estate kingpin Max Christmas.

“It gave us a global identification and set the course for how people know us – a place with beaches and water,” the late real estate figure told the Bulletin in 2019.

“We are golden in our nature and it just added to the wonderful assets we already have.

“There were a few names considered in those early days including Pacific City but ultimately every part of the Gold Coast is now blessed with this wonderful title.”

With towers rising rapidly through the 1960s, the region picked up another nickname that stuck – the “Glitter Strip” which largely referred to the Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach high-rise stretch on the beaches.

The Surfers Paradise Beer Garden in the 1960s.

There were many colourful characters in this era who exemplified the “Glitter Strip” spirit, notably businessman Bernie Elsey who staged his famous pyjama parties in Surfers Paradise.

He was the man who also brought the Gold Coast one of its most famous, and equally infamous creations – the Meter Maids.

Created by Mr Elsey and the Surfers Paradise Progress Association in opposition to parking meters being installed, the girls in golden bikinis fed meters with coins to prevent people particularly visitors. getting fines.

They soon became iconic and known the world over.

But perhaps the figure best-associated with shaping that image in the minds of Australia in the world was Melbourne developer and businessman turned Mayor Sir Bruce Small.

Sir Bruce Small played a key role in shaping the image of the Gold Coast.

In January 1967, Cyclone Dinah moved down the coastline off the Coral Sea.

While never crossing the coast, it caused havoc in Surfers Paradise where the Nerang River burst its banks.

The damage was significant, as photos went around the world showing the city’s ruined beaches.

With tourism already a major industry for the city, it forced urgent action.

Newly elected to the office, Sir Bruce understood that drastic moves were needed to boost the region’s reputation and so he undertook one of his most famous adventures – he led the famous Surfers Paradise Meter Maids on tour to cities such as Sydney and Melbourne to spruik the Gold Coast.

Sir Bruce Small with a Meter Maid.

A success, it put the Coast back on the map and became an iconic moment of Sir Bruce’s tenure.

But these images also became burned into the brains of the public, who saw the Gold Coast as the home of Meter Maids long after they had faded from serving a civic function. At one stage, the Meter Maids - which continued to operate as a private venue under former Meter Maid Roberta Aitchison (who infamously posed in Penthouse) - even had a short-lived bar named after them where you were served by them.

Today, it all but ceases to exist.

As the decades passed, the old Surfers Paradise faded away, as did the figures of that era but their influence did not dissipate.

Surfers Paradise grew rapidly from the 1960s.

As the Gold Coast grew into a major tourism mecca in the 1980s, 1990s and into the 21st century, it struggled to shake off that 1960s-era view of the city.

While it had served the Gold Coast brilliantly at the time, many civic and tourism leaders have cringed at the term “Glitter Strip” while others believe it is part of the city’s DNA even as it evolves.

When the Gold Coast was on the world stage in 2018 as host of the Commonwealth Games, the Meter Maids were ruled out from being part of the opening ceremony and tourism leaders worked overtime to create a new image for the city – less “Glitter Strip” and more “famous for fun” but with a deepening, less fragile boom-and-bust economy - and a lifestyle that was enviable around the country.

How successful this transition has been remains to be seen.