Cavill Mall: Incredible true story of how Gold Coast street became Surfers Paradise’s mall

Surfers Paradise’s Cavill Mall is getting its biggest workout of the year as Schoolies party. This is the story of how it became one of Australia’s best-known locations.

Surfers Paradise’s Cavill Mall is about to get its biggest workout of the year.

It’s the epicentre of Schoolies celebrations, which begin this weekend, with tens of thousands of school-leavers taking part in the annual rite of passage that brings down the curtain on 12 years of schooling.

Get ready to see plenty of pictures of teen revellers cutting loose in the mall, which has witnessed the highs and lows of the annual event across the past 30 years.

It comes 70 years after the idea of building a mall in Surfers Paradise was mooted.

Pitched by Sonja Grodek, it was originally proposed to fill Cavill Ave road between Orchid Ave, and the beach to be blocked off and umbrella-covered seating installed to create a major restaurant area.

Crowds enjoying Schoolies at Surfers Paradise. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The vision won the backing of the Surfers Paradise Chamber of Commerce in the early 1960s and engineer Jock McIlwain conceived a design which eventually was shown to the Gold Coast City Council.

Mr McIlwain’s idea was for a single-lane of traffic to continue on the northern side but this was not supported.

It took until November 1975 for a trial mall to be backed and created, opening in early 1976.

The mall of the late 1970s and early 1980s did feature plenty of dining and umbrellas as well as hanging plant baskets.

By the early 1980s, it became clear there was support for a permanent mall. It was approved by Mayor Keith Hunt.

Grundy’s amusement centre and its famous outdoor water slides had already moved and the Paradise Centre was not far away.

Cavill Mall, Surfers Paradise, 1975

Construction of the $600,000 project began in May 1982.

The seats, tables, giant chess set and many of the coffee shop facilities disappeared, and businesses were furious about the downturn sparked by the work.

Charlies Coffee Shop manager Peter Drake said at the time that takings were down by between half and three-quarters.

He said he was getting ready to start redecorating and the staff had been kept busy dusting and washing instead of serving customers.

Chemist Ernie Target said the work was having “a very serious” effect on his business and takings were down by 90 per cent.

“Once they start on the footpath we might as well stay home,” he said.

“Once it is done it will be marvellous. I’m just not sure how we will get through in the meantime.”

The work was finished within months and the revamped mall opened in September 1982.

Cavill Mall and the Grundy's slides in Surfers Paradise in the early 1980s

A giant sunken chess board was created as well as an information booth which was leased to the Gold Coast Visitors Bureau.

Alderman Hunt told the Bulletin he was happy with the new Cavill Mall.

“The Cavill Mall has held special significance for this city for a long time,” he said.

“Long before the razzamatazz of Surfers Paradise grew around it, Cavill Mall was the pivot of a happy holiday atmosphere, presented and encouraged by those who laid the first foundations of what we see today.

“In days gone by the girls and boys used to sit on the running boards of their Buicks and Austins and party on, long after the hotels had closed.”

Ald Hunt’s joy at the mall and hopes for what it would become were short-lived.

He died in office just a handful of months later.

Today Cavill Mall remains one of Australia’s best-known and most instagrammed locations, beloved the world over and at the heart of events like the Pacific Airshow.

With tourism a focus for the new state government, its stature is only likely to grow.