Wonder Reef Gold Coast: The failed plan to sink a giant pyramid off Main Beach and The Spit

A giant pyramid was planned to be sunk off the Gold Coast as the centrepiece of the city’s dive attraction. This is the wild true story of how the underwater landmark came to be considered.

IT took more than a decades and millions of dollars to realise the city’s dream of having a purpose-built dive site.

Wonder Reef, which exists off Main Beach and The Spit has proven popular with divers and city leaders are now looking at expanding the idea.

It was a different story a decade ago this week when the most audacious proposal was made – to build a giant underwater pyramid.

Gold Coast Dive Attraction -Pyramid

The story of the dive site begins a few years earlier in the late 2000s when the city, suffering from the tough financial times brought about by the global financial crisis, was looking for a few attraction.

In early 2010, the state government gave the then Gold Coast Tourism a $71,800 grant to look at how to develop a dive site.

The concepts were immediate headline grabbers.

‘‘There are many scenarios out there,’’ said Gold Coast Tourism spokeswoman Stephanie Fuller at the time.

‘‘A number of naval vessels have been sunk; it could be an F-111 or something else like an underwater stone museum with artwork and a number of different sculptures where marine life attach to it.”

The proposed location of the pyramid.

The F-111 concept was quickly abandoned, and efforts turned on securing the navy vessel HMAS Tobruk which was on the verge of retirement.

By late 2013 these plans had also fallen over, leading Mayor Tom Tate to propose a giant pyramid.

``It could be a pyramid but then again industry might say it would be better as a giant shell or even a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa,’’ he told the Bulletin at the time.

``It will be up to the market to decide and by going out to consultation we will find out what we are missing from our plans and research and … determine what we will do.

``We need an attraction that people will use and will cement the Gold Coast’s reputation as a watersports mecca.’’

A later concept for the pyramid.

The idea rapidly proved to be controversial.

Queensland Dive Company boss Mark Salter has lobbied the council and successive State Governments to build a dive site and said he was disappointed with the council’s cut-price proposal.

``It is embarrassing it has taken so long for them to commit to doing this but I guess it is better than nothing at all,’’ he said.

``The council have spent so much money on reports over the years that they could have funded three dive sites easily.

``I cannot see a lot of people from around the world coming to see an artificial structure.’’

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate in 2013.

Save Our Spit president Dr Steven Gration said a replica pyramid would be ``tasteless’’.

``It is not really in line with nature and adventure tourism, which is what people are looking to experience when they come to the Gold Coast to dive,’’ he said at the time.

``We have some of Australia’s best dive sites in the Seaway and Broadwater and any plans to develop a cruise ship terminal within it would create serious issues.’’

Concept drawings were developed but it failed to get the backing of the state government, as did hopes of securing a Soviet-era Typhoon-class nuclear submarine

Even sinking the set of the Gold Coast-shot Pirates of the Caribbean was mooted in 2015.

Wonder Reef, Gold Coast today.

Once retired navy warships were finally ruled out in 2018, the state government came on-board and agreed to jointly fund a purpose-built dive facility.

Installation he $5m Wonder Reef offshore dive site began in August 2021 and it opened to the public the following year.

Mr Tate has continued to push for a second and third stage of the dive site, which also could include an underwater grave yard.

No decision is expected to be made before the next election, due in March.