Long-time driver Les Davis says goodbye to the Broadbeach monorail as redevelopment starts

IT’S the end of an era, with the Broadbeach monorail set to be demolished within six months after its final journey yesterday. Fans and one of its original drivers have waved goodbye after 28 years.

IT’S the end of an era, with the Broadbeach monorail set to be demolished within six months.

The 28-year-old monorail took passengers for the last time at 5pm yesterday with around 25 passengers aboard for an emotional final journey from the shopping centre to the casino.

Work will soon to redevelop the top floors of the Oasis to remove the monorail infrastructure and recreate the area as a major dining and office venue.

The Broadbeach monorail rides off into the sunset. Picture Mike Batterham

FLASHBACK: How the Broadbeach Monorail was built

Oasis centre manager Rosalind Blandford said the day-to-day cost of minting the monorail had dramatically increased as both its reliability and patronage had declined in recent years.

She said the decision to close the monorail was not made lightly but would allow for new opportunities.

Artist impressions of the new-look Oasis Shopping Centre which will begin to take shape with the monorail’s closure.

“It is bittersweet but it is all in the name of progress for Broadbeach as well as the Oasis.

“It is at the end of its life and has serve the area well but it is time for a change.

“There is a lot of development in the planning here and this gives us a chance to plan what else we can do for the property, which is positive.”

A new food and dining precinct will be created at the Oasis Shopping Centre

The track, which sits 12 metres above central Broadbeach, is expected to be demolished and removed by midyear, with the Oasis waiting on approvals from the Gold Coast City Council.

The future of the monorail vehicles remains uncertain and no decision has been made.

With the Oasis monorail closed, the Gold Coast will be home to Australia’s last remaining operational monorail system, which continues to run at Sea World.

The monorail over the Gold Coast Highway. Its tracks will come down within six months. Photo: David Clark

Jupiters’ owners, Star Entertainment Group, backed the demolition of the monorail to help make way for the next stage of its billion-dollar expansion.

Construction of a third high-rise tower on the casino Island is expected to begin this year after the State Government gave it the tick of approval in December.

The 200m tower is expected to feature a hotel and apartments and is the third of seven towers proposed for the island and is set to be completed by 2020.

The redevelopment of Jupiters Casino is expected to begin this year.

It will featured 700 rooms and will be built by a joint venture of Star and Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium.

Area councillor Paul Taylor was among the final passengers aboard the monorail and admitted it was a bittersweet journey.

“It is a real shame it has come to an end because it feels like the monorail was here forever but I do understand the cost of running it was continuing to get higher.

“It was a hi-tech tourist attraction in the 1980s but we now live in 2017 and it had to make way for the future.”

The tram was once futuristic. Picture Mike Batterham

Les’ long goodbye

Les Davis behind the controls of the monorail. Picture Mike Batterham

LES Davis’ hair is shorter and greyer than it was the first time he saw the Broadbeach monorail nearly 30 years ago but decades behind the wheel have done nothing to dull his enthusiasm.

Mr Davis was 32 years old when he first saw the monorail in mid-1989 when the gleaming new white vehicle rolled into the station with is famous butterfly decals.

Les Davis began working on the monorail when it first opened in 1989.

After spending a career behind the driver’s seat and minting his beloved monorail, the veteran conductor admitted yesterday’s final journey was a bittersweet occasion.

“It was good to be on the last ride but it is sad, it’s an iconic piece of machinery but as Broadbeach advances It is time,

“The first time I saw it was futuristic and it was big and back then my hair was black but now it is grey.

Les celebrated with a crowd of fans and long-time monorail staff. Picture Mike Batterham

“The best thing has been seeing Broadbeach grow and every building around here rise up around me.”

Mr Davis will now work on dismantling the monorail in coming months.

“I feel I am lucky to have been a part of it all,” he said.

“There’s bee a lot of chances in the centre as well, I remember when we had a minigolf course here but change is good.”

Mr Davis’ enthusiasm was yesterday matched by that of self-confessed monorail enthusiast Helen O’Boyle who flew up from Sydney to witness the final journey.

Monorail enthusiast Helen O'Boyle came all the way from Sydney for the monorail’s final journey. Picture Mike Batterham

Ms O’Boyle learned of the monorail’s closure at noon on Saturday and within 35 minutes had arrived at the airport and booked a flight to the Gold Coast.

Ms O’Boyle owns several carriages leftover from the decommissioned Sydney monorail and will today make an offer to Oasis management to obtain one of the Coast’s remaining vehicles in the hopes of preserving it.

Mr and Mrs Nicholas and Samantha Chapple with their two children Olivia 2 and Lachlan 5 months. Picture Mike Batterham

“I have been a monorail enthusiast since 1973 and being here was absolutely exciting to see the Gold Coast monorail for its final journey,” she said.

“There is a real physical sensation to riding on the monorail and it was nice to feel it again because I had not been on one since the Sydney monorail closed in 2013.

“I will be asking try and get a piece of the monorail today but I will go it a go.”

Calling all stations, the monorail is riding off into history. Picture Mike Batterham