Weclome to the Gold Coast

Welcome to the Gold Coast – the beachfront esplanades of these vibrant centres extends visitors a warm welcome to sit back and relax, soak up the fun and taste the excitement of Australia’s most popular holiday playground. Almost every Australian is familiar with the white sands of Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta.

Our FREE tourism publications were created to boast all of the fantastic features of the Gold Coast. Our Gold Coast Tourist Guide Map is in its 9^th year of production, with 600,000 copies printed per year, it is one of the most widely distributed tourism publications on the Gold Coast. Complete with the most comprehensive map of the Gold Coast, local area maps, activities and attractions plus much more.

Our FREE Gold Coast Tourist Magazine is in its 4^th year of production, with close to 200,000 copies distributed per year, it is quickly becoming one of the best guides for things to do, places to see and fun to be had on the Gold Coast. Complete with a comprehensive guide of activities to do, local information, local area maps, special offers and much more, you’ll find everything you need for your Gold Coast holiday in this one handy guide.

Infomaps also produce the compendium folders in accommodation houses on the Gold Coast, comprising of building information, local area maps and our FREE Gold Coast Compendium Magazine. Our compendiums are in over 7,500 rooms on the Gold Coast and this number continues to grow.

All our tourism publications can be found in accommodation houses, at tour desks, information booths, airports, car hire companies and many of our advertisers – just ask them for your FREE copy.

Our website and publications are designed to ensure you see all there is to see of the Gold Coast, so enjoy browsing and we wish you all the very best for a wonderful holiday during your stay on the magnificent Gold Coast.

General Information

The beaches sit beneath a ragged skyline shaped by countless highrise beachfront apartments that began popping up in the late 60’s and are world renowned for their beauty, cleanliness and fine surfing conditions, and are probably the Gold Coast’s biggest attractions.

The Gold Coast remains Australia’s leading tourist destination. Millions of visitors come here each year from around the world to enjoy fine golf courses, sandy beaches and the lush Hinterland for bush walking, superb shopping centres, endless sightseeing choices and of course, glorious weather.

There are many fine restaurants catering for all tastes, great shopping, sporting and entertainment facilities. The Gold Coast caters particularly well to the varied needs of all travelers.

The calm Southport Broadwater, with an extensive inland canal system, provides another setting for water sports and, spreading north to Moreton Bay, is one of Australia’s largest protected waterways, with huge sand and mangrove islands that also form part of the sightseeing attractions.

Gold Coast Facts

Gold Coast City is Queensland’s most Southern city situated at 27° 57’S & 153° 25’E. The city stretches along the Southern coast of Queensland and features 70 kilometres of coastline from South Stradbroke Island in the North, to beautiful Rainbow Bay in the South.

The Gold Coast spans 1,042 square kilometres (approx. 541 square miles) on the Queensland & New South Wales border, 100kms South of Brisbane and 900kms North of Sydney, the Gold Coast is the perfect spot to enjoy a romantic getaway or an action packed family holiday with so many exciting things to do.

Gold Coast City is Australia’s sixth largest city with a population of approximately 425,000. This is expected to grow in excess of 500,000 over the next decade.

Average Summer temperatures range from 19 to 29 degrees Celsius (66 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit).

Average Winter temperatures range from an average of 9 to 21 degrees Celsius (48 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Gold Coast has a sub-tropical climate.

The floral emblem for the Gold Coast is “Banksia Aemula Proteaceae” or the “Wallum Banksia” which flowers in late summer and autumn. The name Wallum came from the word Aborigines used to describe the flower.

According to a study conducted by the Council in 1998, the Gold Coast is the most biologically-diverse city in Australia. Its vegetation ranges from mountain rainforest to coast wetlands and is home to more than: • 34 species of amphibians • 323 birds • 72 mammals • 71 reptiles • 25 species of fish

When swimming on our beaches always swim between the flags at the designated Lifesaving Clubs. The sea may look inviting but the rips and tows have taken lives. The Lifesavers are a volunteer organisation who are on duty every day of the year. Sometimes however the surf just isn’t safe enough for swimming, so you have to listen to what the lifesavers say and always obey the messages they give. That way you will have a great day. During the peak holiday times there are 29 beaches being patrolled with back up services from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

Our sun is beautiful but can be dangerous. Don’t forget the 30+ Sunscreen, a broad brimmed hat and collared shirt, especially in the hours between 10am and 2pm.

The Gold Coast has become one of Australia’s most popular holiday playgrounds, a long way from the days when Captain Cook passed the coast in 1770 and named Point Danger and Mount Warning. The Gold Coast region was first put up for sale in 1874 when it was little more than a picturesque collection of lagoons and mangrove swamps with rivers and creeks meandering their way out to the ocean at Southport. By 1884, the Gold Coast was already becoming a popular holiday destination and Cobb & Co. started running regular coach services from Brisbane to the developing Gold Coast region. Further stimulation to the area’s development occurred in 1889 when a rail link between the Gold Coast and Beenleigh was completed. The rail link was removed 65 years later in 1964.

James Cavill was instrumental in the growth of the region when he built the Surfers Paradise Hotel in the early 1920’s. He purchased the land in Elston (now known as Surfers Paradise) in 1923 for a princely sum of £40 (about $200). A bridge replaced the old horse ferry crossing of the Nerang River in 1925 and in an effort to attract the more mobile and lucrative holiday market, the town of Elston (previously known as Meyers Ferry) was renamed “Surfers Paradise” in 1933 after the hotel Cavill had built 10 years earlier.

Property prices began rising sharply after WWII as there was an involuntary moratorium on development and would be developers could see an opportunity to cash in on a Post War boom. The greater region was given its modern moniker in the early 1950’s when a journalist discussing the rising property values metaphorically referred to the area as the “Gold Coast”. The ensuing development boom of the 1950’s saw a rush to build large beachfront holiday apartments to support the now rapidly growing tourist market. By the 1960’s the beachfront had all but been completely developed and the urbanization of the surrounding farms and wetlands began.

The Gold Coast region was known to local Aborigines as “Umbigumbi” and “Kurrungul”. The traditional borders of the Gombemberri people of the Gold Coast extended from the Tweed River in the South along the Coomera River to Numinbah Valley. Some historians estimate that Aborigines have been coming to the Gold Coast for over 10,000 years. They came to the Gold Coast from Bundjalung, South of the Tweed River, and from as far North as Maryborough.

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