City of Gold Coast

City of Gold Coast
City of Gold Coast; Queensland
	Map showing City of Gold Coast within South East Queensland
	City of Gold Coast Coat of Arms
Population	606,774 (2018)[1] (2nd)
• Density	454.85/km2 (1,178.1/sq mi)
Established	1948
Area	1,334 km2 (515.1 sq mi)[1]
Mayor	Tom Tate
Council seat	Surfers Paradise
Region	South East Queensland
State electorate(s)	Bonney, Broadwater, Burleigh, Coomera, Currumbin, Gaven, Mermaid Beach, Mudgeeraba, Southport, Surfers Paradise, Theodore
Federal Division(s)	Fadden, Forde, McPherson, Moncrieff, Wright
Website	City of Gold Coast
	LGAs around City of Gold Coast:

The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774[1] it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being the largest).[1] Its council maintains a staff of over 2,500. It was established in 1948, but has existed in its present form since 2008.

History

Early history

Southport Pier, 1910

By the late 1870s, the Government of Queensland had become preoccupied with the idea of getting local residents to pay through rates for local services, which had become a massive cost to the colony and were undermaintained in many areas. The McIlwraith government initiated the Divisional Boards Act 1879 which created a system of elected divisional boards covering most of Queensland. It was assented by the Governor on 2 October 1879, and on 11 November 1879, the Governor gazetted a list of 74 divisions which would come into existence. Four of these — Nerang, Coomera, Beenleigh and Waterford — were in the Gold Coast region. Southport was developed as both an administrative centre as well as a holiday destination with hotels and guesthouses to cater for visitors. Town dwellers had different needs to the rural landholders so Southport ratepayers lobbied the colonial government to create a separate Divisional Board so that rates monies raised by Southport landholders could be spent on town improvements. This resulted in the establishment of the Southport Division on 14 July 1883 by an amalgamation of part of Nerang Division and part of Coomera Division.

Beach foreshore at Burleigh Heads, 1932

On 31 March 1903, following the enactment of the Local Authorities Act 1902, the divisions became shires. On 12 June 1914, the Town of Coolangatta was created from part of the Shire of Nerang, and on 12 April 1918, Southport became a town.[2]

Development and growth

Aerial view looking towards Coolangatta, ca. 1952

On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government in South East Queensland, an Order in Council created the Town of South Coast by amalgamating Town of Southport, Town of Coolangatta and coastal sections (around Burleigh Heads) of the Shire of Nerang, creating a narrow coastal strip. The same Order abolished all of the earlier Shires and amalgamated most of their area into the new Shire of Albert, with the rest becoming part of the Shire of Beaudesert. The Order came into effect on 10 June 1949, when the first elections were held for the new councils.

On 23 October 1958, the Town of the South Coast adopted the name of Town of Gold Coast, and on 16 May 1959, the Town was proclaimed as the City of Gold Coast by the Governor of Queensland, having met the requirements for city status. Most of what is now regarded as the Gold Coast urban area was at that time located within the Shire of Albert, which had its administrative offices in Nerang-Southport Road, Nerang.

A regional authority

On 19 March 1992, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its report External Boundaries of Local Authorities, and recommended a number of changes to local government boundaries and the amalgamation of some local governments.[3] Although their recommendations only included boundary adjustments between the Gold Coast City and Albert Shire, the outcome following much public debate was a decision by the Queensland Government to absorb Albert Shire into Gold Coast City. The Local Government (Albert, Beaudesert and Gold Coast) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994, resulting in the amalgamation of the Shire of Albert into Gold Coast City at the 1995 local government elections.

In 2007, as part of a report recommending massive amalgamation of local government in Queensland, the Local Government Reform Commission recommended that the Beenleigh-Eagleby region on the Gold Coast's northern border be transferred to Logan City, on the basis that a common community of interest existed and that planning of the South East Queensland urban footprint would be made more efficient by the change. The area to be excised was estimated by the Commission to have an area of 49 km² (18.9 sq mi) and a population of 40,148. The change took effect at 15 March 2008 local government elections.

Heritage listings

The Gold Coast has many heritage-listed sites, including those at:

Suburbs and localities

Divisions and councillors

Gold Coast City has been divided into 14 divisions, each electing one councillor at elections held every four years. The most recent local government election was on 19 March 2016.[4] Additionally, a mayor is elected by the entire City. The present mayor is Cr Tom Tate (2012–present),[5][6] with Cr Donna Gates as Deputy Mayor.

City of Gold Coast[7]
Div	Office suburb	Councillor	Party	Term	Notes
Mayor	Southport	Tom Tate	LNP	2012–	[8]
1	Ormeau	Mark Hammel	Independent	2020–	[8]
2	Helensvale	William Owen-Jones	LNP	2012–	[8]
3	Upper Coomera	Donna Gates	Independent	2007–	[8]
4	Paradise Point	Cameron Caldwell	LNP	2012–	[8]
5	Nerang	Peter Young	Independent	2016–	[8]
6	Southport	Brooke Patterson	Independent	2020–	[8]
7	Bundall	Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden	Independent	2020–	[8]
8	Nerang	Bob La Castra	LNP	1997–	[8]
9	Mudgeeraba	Glenn Tozer	LNP	2012–	[8]
10	Bundall	Paul Taylor	LNP	2012–	[8]
11	Robina	Hermann Vorster	LNP	2016–	[8]
12	Burleigh Heads	Pauline Young	Independent	2016–	[8]
13	Palm Beach	Daphne McDonald	LNP	1991–	[8]
14	Tugun	Gail O’Neill	Independent	2016–	[8]

Queensland[9]
District	Member of Parliament	Party	Term
Bonney	Sam O'Connor	LNP	2017–
Broadwater	David Crisafulli	LNP	2017–
Burleigh	Michael Hart	LNP	2012–
Coomera	Michael Crandon	LNP	2009–
Currumbin	Laura Gerber	LNP	2020–
Gaven	Meaghan Scanlon	ALP	2017–
Mermaid Beach	Ray Stevens	LNP	2009–
Mudgeeraba	Ros Bates	LNP	2009–
Southport	Rob Molhoek	LNP	2012–
Surfers Paradise	John-Paul Langbroek	LNP	2004–
Theodore	Mark Boothman	LNP	2017–

Australia
Division	Member of Parliament	Party	Term
Fadden	Stuart Robert	LNP	2007–
Forde	Bert Van Manen	LNP	2010–
McPherson	Karen Andrews	LNP	2010–
Moncrieff	Angie Bell	LNP	2019–
Wright	Scott Buchholz	LNP	2010–

Population

Beach foreshore at Steiglitz, 2014

Highrises at Broadbeach, 2008

Populations are provided below for the Gold Coast (Southport/Coolangatta, South Coast, Gold Coast) and Albert entities. As Albert included the entire Logan City area prior to 1978, figures are only provided from the 1976 census.

Year	Population (Gold Coast)	Annual growth (%)	Population (Albert)	Annual growth (%)
1933	6,046	N/A
1947	13,888	6.12
1954	19,807	5.20
1961	33,716	7.90
1966	49,481	7.97	6,437	N/A
1971	66,697	6.15	10,165	9.57
1976	87,510	5.58	24,268	19.01
1981	117,824	6.13	54,870	17.72
1986	130,304	2.03	92,766	11.07
1991	157,857	3.91	143,697	9.15

Year	Population	Annual growth (%)
1991	301,554	6.21
1996	375,175	4.47
2001	441,736	3.32
2006	507,876	2.83
2011	494,501	Beenleigh left in deamalgamation
2016	551,721	2.49

Demographics

Selected historical census data for City of Gold Coast local government area
Census year		2001[10]	2006[11]	2011[12]	2016[13]
Population	Estimated residents on census night	426,661	472,279	494,501	555,721
	LGA rank in terms of size within Queensland		2nd	2nd	2nd
	% of Queensland population	11.9%	12.1%	11.41%	11.82%
	% of Australian population	2.27%	2.38%	2.3%	2.38%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type	Separate house	58.5%	58.9%	60.4%	58.3%
	Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse	16.0%	16.6%	18.8%	20.6%
	Flat or apartment	22.1%	22.6%	19.6%	19.9%

Libraries

Palm Beach Community Lounge

The first municipal library on the Gold Coast opened in the Southport Town Hall on 30 April 1958. Prior to this, a series of School of arts and private circulating libraries had supported the communities' and visitors' recreational and educational reading needs.[14]

The City of Gold Coast has 12 libraries at Broadbeach (at Mermaid Waters), Burleigh Heads, Burleigh Waters, Coolangatta, Elanora, Helensvale, Nerang, Palm Beach, Robina, Runaway Bay, Southport and Upper Coomera.[15] There is a special needs library within Nerang Library[16] and a Local Studies Library (on the first floor of Southport Library).[17] The council also operate a mobile library service.[15]

In 2018, the mobile library provides a fortnight service to Alberton, Ashmore, Benowa, Bonogin, Cedar Creek, Coomera, Currumbin Valley, Gilston, Jacobs Well, Mudgeeraba, Ormeau (4 visits), Paradise Point, Pimpama (3 visits), Tugun, Steiglitz, Tallebudgera Valley, and Woongoolba.[18] The Gold Coast City Library is a member of the Queensland Public Libraries Association.[19]

Key projects

Hinze Dam was upgraded in 2011

Gold Coast University Hospital
Tugun Desalination Plant
Raising of Hinze Dam
Southport Broadwater Parklands
Gold Coast Rapid Transit System
Gold Coast Ferry Service
Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens
Evandale Cultural Precinct including a greenbridge from Evandale Parklands to Chevron Island
Mermaid Waters Library
Gold Coast Shoreline Management Plan

Notable personnel

Notable people who work for or who have worked for the City of Gold Coast include:

Guillermo Capati, 1994 – 2017, managed the city's water and wastewater needs, long-term water planning and recycled water[20][21]

gollark: +>markov 258639553357676545 2

gollark: ++remind 5d5m +>markov