page_title: History of Gold Coast, Queensland
section_title: Post-war years and the birth of the name Gold Coast
hierarchical_section_title: History of Gold Coast, Queensland / Post-war years and the birth of the name Gold Coast
caption_attribution_description: A photo I took on film and later scanned of Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia. Taken sometime in the 1990s.--Commander Keane 02:41, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
context_page_description: The history of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia began in prehistoric times with archaeological evidence revealing occupation of the district by Australian Aborigines for at least 23,000 years. The first early European colonizers began arriving in the late 1700s, settlement soon followed throughout the 19th century, and by 1959 the town was proclaimed a city. Today, the Gold Coast is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia.
context_section_description: The South Coast region was a very popular holiday destination for servicemen returning from World War II.
  However, inflated prices for real estate and other goods and services led to the nickname of "Gold Coast" from 1950. South Coast locals initially considered the name "Gold Coast" derogatory.
  However, soon the "Gold Coast" simply became a convenient way to refer to the holiday strip from Southport to Coolangatta.
  As the tourism industry grew into the 1950s, local businesses began to adopt the term in their names, and on 23 October 1958 the South Coast Town Council was renamed "Gold Coast Town Council". The area was proclaimed a city less than one year later.
  Specific Gold Coast areas became the holiday destinations for many who lived inland. Coolangatta had a caravan and camping park on the New South Wales border and numerous families from Ipswich spent their Christmas holidays there. In later times, many holiday rental flats sprung up in the area. The Ipswich roots remain as the Currumbin Lifesavers, share with a similar Ipswich swimming club the title 'Vikings'. Many Vikings swimming club members joined the life saving squads at Currumbin during the holiday periods.
  By the 1960s the Gold Coast's infrastructure had grown considerably, and the local building industry was able to support the development of high-rise holiday apartments and hotels (the first of which, Kinkabool, was completed in 1959). Surfers Paradise had firmly established itself as the leading destination and the introduction of bikini-clad meter maids in 1965 to feed parking meters by the beach to prevent holiday makers from getting parking fines was a particularly popular innovation.  In 1965, the World water skiing championships were held at the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens, now known as Sea World.  This was the first international event held on the coast.
  The hi-rise boom continued in earnest during the 1970s and by the time the Gold Coast Airport terminal opened in Coolangatta in 1981, the region had become Australia's most well-known family holiday destination and much of the vacant land within 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of the coast had been developed. Japanese property investment during the 1980s made the skyline soar, and the construction of modern theme parks including Dreamworld, Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet'n'Wild Water World confirmed the Gold Coast's reputation as an international tourist centre.
  Some unethical business practices and State Government corruption during the late 1980s tainted the Coast's reputation as a place of business, and property marketeering (seminars which duped interstate and overseas investors into paying premium prices for new Gold Coast property developments) during the 1990s did little to help the region's image.
  In 1994, Queensland Local Government Commissioner, Greg Hoffmann began reviewing the local government boundaries in the Gold Coast, Albert and Beaudesert areas. After public debate, the 'Local Government (Albert, Beaudesert and Gold Coast) Regulation 1994' provided for the amalgamation of Gold Coast City Council and the Shire of Albert to create a new local authority  called the City of Gold Coast Council. An election was held on 11 March 1995 and the first Council meeting was held on 24 March 1995.
caption: Burleigh Heads Beach circa 1990s.
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