Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise is a coastal town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Surfers Paradise is a coastal town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 23,689 people.Colloquially known as "Surfers", the suburb has many high-rise apartment buildings and a wide surf beach. The feature of the heart of the suburb is Cavill Mall, which runs through the shopping and entertainmentprecinct. Cavill Avenue, named after Jim Cavill, an early hotel owner, is one of the busiest shopping strips in Queensland, and the centre of activity for night life.One of the features of the area is the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids designed to build goodwill with tourists.

Surfers Paradise is the Gold Coast'sentertainment and tourism centre and the suburb's high-rise buildings are the best known feature of the city's skyline.

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Surfers Paradise was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location".

James Beattie, a farmer, became the first European to settle in the area when he staked out an 80-acre (32 ha) farm on the northern bank of the Nerang River, close to present-day Cavill Avenue. The farm proved unsuccessful and was sold in 1877 to German immigrant Johan Meyer, who turned the land into a sugar farm and mill. Meyer also had little luck growing in the sandy soil and within a decade had auctioned the farm to focus on providing access to tourists wanting to visit the surf beach. From 1880 to 1928, Meyer's Ferry operated across the Nerang River transporting passengers and vehicles. He operated a horse-and-buggy service from the Southport railway station to the beach. He built the Main Beach Hotel. By 1889, Meyer's hotel had become a post receiving office and subdivisions surrounding it were called Elston, named by the Southport postmaster after his wife's home in Southport, Lancashire, England. The Main Beach Hotel licence lapsed after Meyer's death in 1901 and for 16 years Elston was a tourist town without a hotel or post office.

In 1917, a land auction was held by Brisbane real estate company Arthur Blackwood to sell subdivided blocks in Elston as the "Surfers' Paradise Estate", but the auction failed because access was difficult. This was the first recorded reference to the name Surfers Paradise.Elston began to get more visitors after the opening of Jubilee Bridge and the extension of the South Coast Road in 1925. Elston was no longer cut off by the river and speculators began buying land around Elston and further south at Burleigh Heads. Estates down the coast were promoted and hotels opened to accommodate tourists and investors.In 1925, Brisbane hotelier Jim Cavill opened the Surfers Paradise Hotel located on what would later become the site of the Surfers Paradise Centre which incorporates the Surfers Paradise Beer Garden and Hard Rock Cafe. In opening the hotel and neighbouring zoo, Cavill created the first attraction in the suburb. Located between the ferry jetty and the white surf beach off the South Coast Road, it became popular and shops and services sprang up around it. In the following years Cavill pushed to have the name Elston changed to Surfers' Paradise. The suburb was officially renamed on 1 December 1933 after the local council felt the Surfers Paradise name was more marketable. In July 1936 Cavill's timber hotel burnt to the ground and was rebuilt the following year.Surfers Paradise State Schoolwas first established in Laycock Street, three blocks south of Cavill Avenue, in 1934. It relocated to its current site on theIsle of Capri site in 1976.A development boom followed in the 1950s and 1960s. The first highrise in Surfers Paradise was erected in 1959 and was named the Kinkabool. The Kinkabool stood 10 stories high and remains to this day in Hanlan Street.Many tall apartment buildings were constructed in the decades that followed, including the iconic buildings included the Iluka, St Tropez and The Pink Poodle. The boom later saw strong Japanese investment in the 1980s.Little remains of the early vegetation or natural features of the area and even the historical association of the beachfront development with the river is tenuous. The early subdivision pattern remains, although later reclamation of the islands in the Nerang River as housing estates (e.g. Chevron Island), and the bridges to those islands, have created a contrast reflected in subdivision and building form. Some early remnants survived such as Budds Beach — a low-scale open area on the river which even in the early history of the area was a centre for boating, fishing and swimming.

Some minor changes have occurred in extending the road along the beachfront since the early subdivision and The Esplanade road is now a focus of activity, with supporting shops and restaurants. The intensity of activity, centred on Cavill, Orchid and Elkhorn Avenues, is reflected in the density of development. Of all places on the Gold Coast the high-rise buildings in this area constitute a dominant and enduring image visible from as far south as Coolangatta and from the mountain resorts of the hinterland.

At the 2011 census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 19,668.In the 2016 census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 23,689 people.

As a popular destination for beach-goers, Surfers Paradise is noted for its relatively steady warm climate throughout the year. Temperatures recorded at the nearest active weather station, Gold Coast Seaway, are milder than Brisbane in summer and warmer in winter. Extreme temperatures at the station have ranged from 40.5 °C (104.9 °F) on 22 February 2004 to 2.5 °C (36.5 °F) on 19 July 2007. The average temperature of the sea ranges from 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) in July and August to 27.1 °C (80.8 °F) in February.

Surfers Paradise is fronted to the east by the Surfers Paradise Foreshore, a rejuvenated public space that fronts Surfers Paradise Beach and the Pacific Ocean.The Foreshore was completed in 2011 and feature contemporary coastal streetscaping that incorporates existing trees and vegetation, including about 95 pandanus trees.The masterplanned space hosts a full calendar of free public events such as the Surfers Paradise Festival and the Australian Sand Sculpting Championships. The area of Surfers Paradise east of Surfers Paradise Boulevard sprawling towards the beach tends to focus on family-friendly attractions such as Time Zone, Ripley's Believe it or Not museum and Adrenalin Park; while the nightclubs and adult entertainment tend to be concentrated in the western part of the suburb.

The precinct offers high rise accommodations to tourists such asCircle on Cavill, Hilton, Q1 and Soul.

RetailSurfers Paradise offers some of the Gold Coast's best shopping opportunities, with a variety of stores located in Cavill Avenue and surrounding streets as well as at theCentro Surfers Paradise Shopping Centre is located in Cavill Avenue.

Adrenalin Park is a small amusement park in Surfers Paradise operated by Funtime. The park features the Sling Shot and Vomatron rides as well as a mini golf course.

The Surfers Paradise Meter Maids were introduced in 1965 when entrepreneur Bernie Elsey opposed the installation of parking meters in Surfers Paradise. The maids were hired to top up expired parking meters with coins and dressed in gold bikinis. Meter feeding is against the law but council decided to ignore the offence due to the good publicity it garnered. Gold Coast Mayor Bruce Small promoted the city in 1967 through the use of the bikini-clad meters maids.The meter maids initially dressed in gold lamé bikinis and a tiara but the outfit would go through several changes during their existence. The attire has now evolved into a gold lycra bikini and an Akubra hat. A sash is often worn emblazoned "Surfers Paradise Meter Maids". Controversial retired Australian rules football player Warwick Capper underwent a short stint as a Surfers Paradise meter maid in 2007.The evolution of parking meters to no longer take coins has ended the meter maids's traditional role, but they continue to assist visitors and participate in tourism events.

The "Gold Coast Nightlife Precinct" offers many after-dark activities for visitors, especially around Cavill Avenue. The precinct is considered Australia's nightlife capital and attracts close to 20,000 visitors daily. The precinct also hosts the largest Schoolies week event in the country, attracting tens of thousands of school leavers to the precinct.

Ripley's Museum is a small museum with many unusual exhibits - located in the heart of Surfers Paradise in Cavill Avenue.