Hope Island changing with young families drawn to the suburb

HOPE Island is the golfing and boating mecca on the Gold Coast with a growing reputation as a family-friendly suburb.

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HOPE Island is the golfing and boating mecca on the Gold Coast with a growing reputation as a family-friendly suburb.

The suburb is famous for its golf courses including Links Hope Island and two championship courses at Sanctuary Cove, The Pines and The Palms.

The Sanctuary Cove Boat Show has been held for more than 20 years and attracts thousands of enthusiasts to see the ultimate features in marine lifestyle.

Hope Island is named after Captain the Honourable Louis Hope, a colonial aristocrat who arrived in Moreton Bay in 1848.

He was granted 1800 acres at the mouth of the Coomera River in recognition of his contribution to the development of the sugar industry in Queensland.

Hope Island shopping precinct. Photo: Richard Gosling

Sanctuary Cove and Hope Island Resort are two integrated tourist resort projects, which transformed the area into what it is today.

The former was developed by Mike Gore, who launched the enclave in 1987 with a show called the “Ultimate Event” featuring superstars Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston.

The Marine Village forms the heart of Sanctuary Cove with a range of retail outlets and restaurants including a 217-seat theatre. Hope Island Resort is a 360ha resort and residential community started by Shinko Australia in the 1990s.

Both resorts today boast some of the most expensive luxury property on the Gold Coast with golf buggies a popular form of transportation around the resorts.

Incumbent area councillor Cameron Caldwell, who started his law firm at Hope Island and lived in the area for 13 years, says boating and golfing are central to the local lifestyle.

Links Golf Course. Picture: Mike Batterham

He says the launch of Sanctuary Cove was a major development for the area.

“Sanctuary Cove was far ahead of its time and really put Hope Island on the international map,” he says.

Hope Island has a large proportion of retirees and international residents who own second homes in the area, but the demographic picture is changing with young families increasingly drawn to the suburb.

That is being aided by developments that offer smaller and more affordable properties such as townhouses.

Cameron points towards the Cova estate, developed by Frasers Property (formerly Australand) which offers a range of housing including townhouses starting in the $400,000 range.

He says the future of Hope Island will see the development of a town centre on land adjacent to the Hope Island Tavern as well as the growth of high-density living.

Ray White Hope Island team leader Kevyn Wilmot says: “I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Residents get the benefit of being close to Surfers Paradise and the beach, but are far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the Glitter Strip.”

Ray White Surfers Paradise boss Andrew Bell says the market is seeing a recovery.

“Hope Island is a premier market and was hit by the GFC,” he says. “Prices are no longer falling and we are in fact seeing recovery and a return to healthy levels.”