Al Baldwin: World famous Gold Coast legend, known as the Suntan man, who died in September 2004

One of the Gold Coast’s best-loved figures died after a short illness, leaving behind a devastated community who fondly recalled his sun-loving beach life.

Al Baldwin, the Suntan Man on Surfers Paradise Beach in 1998. Picture: David Clark

Al Baldwin came to the Gold Coast to enjoy the beach and loved every second of it.

A well-loved figure, he became known nationally to generations of tourists and locals simply as “the suntan man”.

This week marks two decades since the beloved larrikin died, leaving behind a legacy which is still celebrated today.

Mr Baldwin arrived on the Gold Coast in 1968 and became a common sight on the golden stretches of Surfers Paradise for more than 30 years.

He was born in New Zealand in 1930 and raised in an orphanage before moving to Sydney in the 1950s, where he opened a restaurant.

The Surfers Paradise tan man Al Baldwin

By the late 1960s, Queensland beckoned and Mr Baldwin made the move north of the border and settled in Surfers Paradise, where he became a lifesaver.

By the late 1960s, the Gold Coast’s beaches had become world famous for their stretches of sand and strong surf breaks.

Despite taking a battering during the 1967 storm season, in which cars were used to create a make-do seawall, the beaches bounced back and were once again bustling with people.

Not long after arriving, Mr Baldwin began a spray-tanning business next to the lifeguard tower at Surfers Paradise beach which he worked at for more than 33 years, spraying up to three million people.

During peak summer seasons it is thought he would spray up to 600 people a day.

"Al The Sun Tan Man" Al Baldwin

Mr Baldwin became an iconic sight on Surfers Paradise beach and was even awarded the Commonwealth Seniors Medal in 2004, around four weeks before his death.

Mr Baldwin was frail as he accepted the award on Surfers Paradise beach nearly a year after it was discovered he had been fighting a long-running battle with lymphatic cancer, which he had been diagnosed with in late 2003.

But despite the bad diagnosis, Mr Baldwin remained optimistic, telling the Bulletin he had no intention of retiring.

“I love the beach and talking to people every day and I’ll continue to do that,” he said in 2003.

“Now they’ve told me I’ve got cancer. It’s in the bones.

“I’m not off. Far from it.

“I have to have a test on my heart next week to see how much chemotherapy I can have and that will take eight weeks, but I’ll be on the beach, don’t worry.

“I spent last week in hospital and I couldn’t wait to get out.”

Mr Baldwin lost his battle with cancer and died at home on September 1, 2004.

A memorial service for Al Baldwin 'the suntan man' on Surfers Paradise Beach in September 2004, (L-R) Close friends Adam O'Brien, daughter Amber, Karl Bonnett, Sue Bowen and lifeguard Robert Dorrough with Al's Board and Chair. Picture: Paul Riley

Just hours before dying he shared a joke and a scotch with his long-time mate Sue Bowen.

Instead of a public gathering, the iconic local requested “no funeral” and was cremated just hours after his death.

The reaction was swift, with the city mourning the loss of the Suntan Man.

Acting mayor Jan Grew led the tributes, saying at the time it was “a very sad day for the Coast”.

“He was the first person to greet so many, many people as they walked on to Surfers Paradise beach,” she said in 2004.

Friend and Gold Coast City Council chief lifeguard Warren Young wrote a poem about Mr Baldwin the day after his death.

‘‘It was just something I wanted to do … all the boys really liked him,’’ he told the Bulletin at the time.

Mr Baldwin’s visage now watches over Surfers Paradise beach in the form of a bronze statue installed on the foreshore in 2011.

“I think it leaves things entirely to the imagination,” said sculptor Frederic Berjot. “You can sit in the chair, taking Al’s place and looking at the beach the way he used to look at the beach, so therefore you become Al in a way, it’s a lot more interactive and I think a clever concept from the beginning.”