How Broadbeach began

Broadbeach History

In 1934, the South Coast Bulletin announced a new seaside township has been surveyed fronting the Pacific Highway and adjoining the Main Beach, about one mile south of Surfers Paradise. The township has been appropriately named Broadbeach and the first section of the site has been surveyed into 70 allotments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerial of Broadbeach 1966

Timber Getting

Back in the 19th century, at the junction of Little Tallebudgera Creek and the Nerang River, timber getter, Ned Harper established an assembly point for the cedar, beech, ash teak and mahogany logs which had been cut from the riverbanks upstream.  From the deep water frontage of Harpers Wharf, sailing vessels took aboard the roughly hewn timber destined for Sydney or Brisbane. Alternatively, the timber was rafted from here to Brisbane.

The Kombumerri

The area south of the original Harpers Wharf is now part of the Cascade Gardens Reserve.The estuary area around Little Tallebudgera Creek and the superb stretch of beach to the east was a feasting ground for the aboriginal people of the area, the Kombumerri People. Apart from moveable feasts, evident from the surviving eugarie shell middens, archaeologists in the 1960s uncovered an ancient aboriginal burial ground at Broadbeach. In the 1980s, the ancestral remains from this burial ground were reinterred in a reserve known as Kombumerri Park.

Sand mining

The Broadbeach sand dunes were also a strategically important resource during World War 2. Southport Minerals mined the mineral sand rutile from the leased reserves and exported the concentrated mineral overseas for the production of special alloy steels and welding equipment. By the mid 1950s, mining had ceased, the dunes were reconstructed, planted with grasses and trees and the land auctioned for redevelopment.

Lennons Broadbeach Hotel

The commercial and housing development of the area was led by the construction of the Lennons Broadbeach Hotel completed in 1957. Built on a site which had been mined for mineral sand, the hotel was often promoted as an oasis in the desert and is in fact now the site of the Oasis commercial centre in Victoria Avenue.

Broadbeach Waters History

In the late 1950s, a form of land reclamation and development took place at the Gold Coast that had not been seen before in this country. Sand pumping technology first used in the sand mining industry, would change the shape of the rivers and convert low ground behind the dunes into prime real estate. In the 1960s, the 100 hectare Florida Gardens Estate project created 1000 allotments and involved the construction of a 30 metre canal linking the Nerang River with Little Tallebudgera Creek. Since that time canal estates have proliferated within the low lying land behind the coastal dunes. These areas quickly developed their own character due in part to the necessary subdivisional pattern of courts and cul de sacs.

 

Today

Broadbeach is home to one of Queensland's largest shopping centres, Pacific Fair, (opened in 1977) which serves as the regional public transport hub, known as the Pacific Fair Bus Station. The area is also home to the Jupiters Hotel and Casino, (operational in 1985) the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (opened in 2004). The GCCEC has won more than 20 awards since it opened. The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre has conference facilities for up to 6,000 delegates and 10,000 sqm of exhibition space, and the Oasis Shopping Centre. Broadbeach Alliance manage the precinct and present annual events and festivals such as Blues on Broadbeach Music Festival and the Broadbeach Jazz Festival.

·         Broadbeach (4218) is a suburb of South Eastern, Gold Coast & Hinterland, Queensland. It is about 74 kms from QLD's capital city of Brisbane.

·         In the 2011 Census the population of Broadbeach is 4,614 and is comprised of 51.3% males and 48.7% females.

·         The median/average age of the Broadbeach population is 37 years of age,

·         52.8% of people living in Broadbeach were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 9.6%, England 4.5%, India 2.4%, Italy 1.2%, Japan 1.2%.

·         71.1% of people speak English as their first language 1.5% Japanese, 1.3% Punjabi, 1.3% Italian, 1.1% Spanish, 0.7% Hindi.

·         The religious make up of Broadbeach is 23.6% Catholic, 20.7% No Religion, 16.8% Anglican, 3.4% Presbyterian and Reformed, 3.4% Uniting Church.

·         33.4% of people are married, 44.8% have never married and 11.8% are separated or divorced. There are 268 widowed people living in Broadbeach.

·         59.6% of the people living in Broadbeach are employed full time, 28.4% are working on a part time basis. Broadbeach has an unemployment rate of 7.1%.

·         The main occupations of people from Broadbeach are Professionals 18.6%, Managers 14.4%, Community and Personal Service Workers 13.7%, Technicians and Trades Workers 13.5%, Sales Workers 13.4%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.2%, Labourers 9.2%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 4%.

·         The median individual income is $661.00 per week and the median household income is $1028.00 per week.

·         24.1% of homes are fully owned, and 16.1% are in the process of being purchased by home loan mortgage. 56.3% of homes are rented.

·         The median rent in Broadbeach is $330 per week and the median mortgage repayment is $1746 per month.

 

·         Broadbeach Waters (4218) is a suburb of South Eastern, Gold Coast & Hinterland, Queensland. It is about 72 kms from QLD's capital city of Brisbane.

·         In the 2011 Census the population of Broadbeach Waters is 7,534 and is comprised of 49.4% males and 50.6% females.

·         The median/average age of the Broadbeach Waters population is 42 years of age, 5 years above the Australian average.

·         64.4% of people living in Broadbeach Waters were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 7.5%, England 5%, South Africa 1%, Germany 0.7%, United States of America 0.6%.

·         81.7% of people speak English as their first language 0.8% Mandarin, 0.7% Japanese, 0.7% Greek, 0.6% Italian, 0.5% Cantonese.

·         The religious make up of Broadbeach Waters is 28.1% Catholic, 22% Anglican, 18.2% No Religion, 5% Uniting Church, 3.1% Presbyterian and Reformed.

·         48.8% of people are married, 32.2% have never married and 10.5% are separated or divorced. There are 340 widowed people living in Broadbeach Waters.

·         55% of the people living in Broadbeach Waters are employed full time, 32.7% are working on a part time basis. Broadbeach Waters has an unemployment rate of 6.5%.

·         The main occupations of people from Broadbeach Waters are Professionals 19.4%, Managers 16.3%, Technicians and Trades Workers 14.8%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 14.3%, Sales Workers 12.5%, Community and Personal Service Workers 10.4%, Labourers 7.4%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 2.5%.

·         The median individual income is $604.00 per week and the median household income is $1257.00 per week.

·         37.8% of homes are fully owned, and 35.6% are in the process of being purchased by home loan mortgage. 22.8% of homes are rented.

·         The median rent in Broadbeach Waters is $420 per week and the median mortgage repayment is $2392 per month.