Tragedy, illness and old age claimed many who changed the world and left a big impression.

These are some we bid goodbye.

Richie Ahsam - Surfers Paradise night-life figure

The longtime security boss for Surfers Paradise “nightspot Hollywood Showgirls died in October aged 50 after suddenly feeling unwell.

A veteran of the Glitter Strip, he was remembered as a popular and respected figure in the industry.

He is survived by partner Danielle, teenage daughter Leilani and son Isaiah.

Declan Bingham - Former soccer player

Declan Bingham – who used to play first class soccer in the city - died in the US in March.

Declan lived in the US for nearly seven years, having moved to Erie, Pennsylvania to take up a sports scholarship at Gannon University.

It was the same campus his father Troy had found fame at more than 30 years ago, gaining hall-of-fame status as a goalscorer.

Paul Broughton - Gold Coast Titans founder

Gold Coast Titans godfather Paul Broughton died in early December at age 91, sparking an outpouring of grief from the rugby league community.

Born in 1931, he played league professionally in Sydney before moving into coaching.

He played a key role in creating the Gold Coast’s own NRL team which entered the competition in 2007.

Geoff Burchill - Engineer

Engineer Geoff Burchill, whose work helped to shape the skyline and suburbs of the Gold Coast, died in October aged 84.

The engineer, master planner and developer was born in Brisbane on March 22, 1938, and his life’s work would see the creation of iconic resort projects including Sanctuary Cove, Palm Meadows, Allisee at Hollywell and Riverlink Estate.

Mr Burchill was instrumental in the planning of Robina and Oxenford, was master planner for Royal Pines Resort and managed the development of Shinko Australia’s $500m Hope Island Resort project from 1988.

Jed Cahill - Filmmaker

Gold Coast filmmaking identity Jed Cahill lost his year-long battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer in June.

The 43-year-old was a long-serving figure in the Queensland film industry and travelled the state sharing his knowledge and skills. He also taught at TAFE. Outside of film he was a member of the Coast’s surf lifesaving community.

He ran the In the Bin and Queensland Touring Film Festivals and was survived by wife Jacinta and children Willow, Max and Ruby.

Olyvia Cowley - Gold Coast resident

A young Gold Coast woman who died suddenly in Bali in August.

The Palm Beach Currumbin High School graduate left behind a devastated family and friends who paid tribute to her in the days after her death.

Peter Devenport - Prominent architect

The father of two died peacefully at home in August surrounded by family at the age of 67.

Mr Devenport worked as an architect for decades, joining prominent Mermaid Beach-based firm BDA Architecture in 2003 where he rose to the post of managing director in 2008 and worked with many prominent developers to create some of the biggest projects of the last 20 years including Southport’s H20 Apartments and 120 Marine Parade.

Ian Gal - Window washer

Ian Gal was a prominent Gold Coast cult figure who washed car windows at the intersection of Burleigh Waters and Bermuda St for many decades.

Hundreds of tributes were left following his sudden death at his home in Carrara in March.

Maurice Hughes - Town crier

The Gold Coast’s last town crier, Mr Hughes died in April after a long illness aged 91.

He served as town crier from 1987 until retirement in 2010 and was a well-known figure at events across the city for decades.

He married four times and had numerous careers include as an actor and salesman for the World Book Encyclopaedia.

The Coombabah resident appeared as an extra in the 1959 film On The Beach and in the 1988 TV revival of Mission Impossible, filmed on the Gold Coast.

Luqman Jubair - Doctor

Dr Luqman Jubair was hailed a hero following his death in February age 35.

He drowned after helping save the life of a struggling swimmer in Miami Beach surf.

Dr Jubair was part of a Griffith University research team that in 2019 made a world-first breakthrough treating cervical cancer in mice using “stealth” nanoparticles and had helped treat Covid patients.

John Knight - Celebrity doctor

Beloved celebrity doctor John Knight died in November, two weeks shy of his 95th birthday.

The man better known to TV audiences as Doctor James Wright passed away in his sleep at his home in Sydney.

For decades, he was a fixture on Australian TV, particularly as a regular guest on the Mike Walsh Show and the latter Midday show with host Ray Martin, was a long-time Bulletin columnist and ran the Medi-Aid Centre Foundation, which provided charity accommodation to struggling people over the age of 55 in luxury units across the Gold Coast.

Gary Liehm - Gold Coast pilot

Gary Liehm was a well-known pilot for more than 40 years who took to the sky in helicopters and planes, chauffeuring celebrities, tourists and media on sightseeing trips and into the depths of humanitarian crises.

He died in August in a plane crash at Fernvale, near Ipswich west of Brisbane.

Mr Liehm, and his passengers – millionaire agribusiness leader Tom Strachan and his son Noah Strachan – died on impact.

Steven Litherland - Coomera-Hope Island Cricket Club identity

A prominent cricketing identity, Mr Litherland died in September after a long battle with lung cancer.

He was a life member, past president, player, captain and junior coach of Coomera Hope Island Cricket Club and was remembered as a “true gentleman”.

Mr Litherland began at Coomera Hope Island as a junior where his father was junior president of the club, before playing senior cricket and becoming club president.

He was survived by his wife, Jodie, and children Courtney and Ryan.

John Longhurst - Dreamworld founder

Tourism visionary and Dreamworld founder John Longhurst died in January aged 89 after a long illness.

Mr Longhurst was remembered as a “man who had big dreams and the unique ability to realise them”.

He was among the first to see the potential of theme parks ion the Gold Coast after buying land at Coomera in 1974 and building the park with a team through the decade before opening in December 1981.

Alan “Doc” Mackenzie - Southport Sharks president

Dr Alan “Doc” Mackenzie died suddenly in May at 76.

He was a landmark figure in Aussie rules on the Gold Coast, having worked as a GP and becoming president of Southport Sharks in 1973 at age 27.

Dr Mackenzie held the post for the rest of his life and was a Gold Coast Suns founding father.

David Mattiske - World War II veteran

Southport resident and a World War II veteran who died of natural causes in January at 96.

Born in 1925, Mr Mattiske enlisted at 18 and served in the Pacific aboard HMAS Shropshire during more than 15 battles, including the Battle of Surigao Strait, Leyte Gulf and Lingayen Gulf before witnessing the end of the war in September, 1945.

In 2000, after retirement, he wrote a book Fire Across the Pacific.

In recent decades he was a fixture of Anzac Day and Remembrance Day commemorations and received the Order of Australia Medal in January 2021.

Tracey McMullen - Media figure

A well-known PR and media figure, she died in August at 52 after a short cancer battle.

She forged a successful media career as a former reporter at the Gold Coast Bulletin and Sunday Mail.

She had PR agency, Infinity PR and was hand-selected to generate publicity for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games as part of its media team.

Roy Miller - ex-Gold Coast Bulletin managing director

Hailed as a “true newspaper man”, he died in November at 77.

From beginning as a copy boy in 1961 to advising Rupert Murdoch as the Bulletin managing director, he saw the industry transform from print focused to the beginning of the digital era.

Mr Miller was well-known locally for more than a decade and well-remembered by the business community.

Patricia Mossop - Gold Coast food critic

The respected Gold Coast food writer died in November after a long illness. She spent 15 years as a Bulletin restaurant reviewer, working alongside her husband Brian until her retirement from the paper in 2012.

Mrs Mossop previously worked as a nurse in Sydney before they relocated to the Gold Coast, where they were a fixture of the social scene for two decades.

Peter Nichols - Tugun Seahawks founder

Mr Nichols, who helped found the Tugun Seahawks in the 1970s, died in July after a long battle with liver cancer.

He went onto coach its A-grade team in the 1983 season and remained a prominent figure at the club for nearly 50 years.

He also served on the Seahawks’ junior committee as president, secretary, treasurer and was club patron in 2022.

Daphne Pirie - Sporting and business figure

The sporting icon died in March at 90 after a fall weeks earlier.

She spent 30 years as a professional athlete, beginning in the 1950s when a runner and high-jump champion before representing Australia in hockey.

She was elected to the Queensland Olympic Council in 1993 and became its vice president.

Craig Shelton - Lifeguard

The ex-ironman star and Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard of the Year, Mr Shelton died in December aged 59 after a long leukaemia battle.

He was a lifeguard for nearly 30 years and had also competed in the Coolangatta Gold.

Paula Stafford - Fashion designer

The Gold Coast icon famous for bringing the bikini to Australia and helping put the spotlight on our city’s beach culture died in June at 102.

She was one of the city’s last living links to the post-war boom and revolutionised swimwear when she brought the bikini to Australia in the early 1950s – claiming to have first worn one more than a decade earlier.

She was survived by her grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Andrew Symonds - Australian Cricketer

The prominent retired cricketer, who represented Australia, died in May after his car crashed off a road near Townsville where he lived.

He was survived by his wife Laura, children Chloe and Billy and mother Barbara.

Mr Symonds sudden death, just weeks before his 47th birthday, has sent shockwaves through the Gold Coast, where he grew up and spent his teenage years.

He spent his childhood in north Queensland before the Symonds family relocated to the Gold Coast in 1988 when his parents became teachers at Merrimac’s All Saints Anglican School where Mr Symonds graduated from in 1993.

John Williams - Dreamworld designer

The original artist behind Dreamworld died in February at 78.

Mr Williams was hired by John Longhurst in 1980 during the final phase of construction and was pivotal to creating its distinctive look.

Mr Williams later worked with cartoonist Ken Maynard in the late-1980s to design the famous Ettamogah Pub at Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast.

He later returned to the Sunshine Coast pub and redesigned it to become the Banana Bender Pub.

andrew.potts@news.com.au