Gold Coast, Australia

For other places with the same name, see Gold Coast.

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The Gold Coast is a coastal region approximately 70 kilometres south of Brisbane, Australia that, over the past 50 years, has coalesced from a collection of scattered villages into a city of approximately 400,000 people - Australia's sixth largest - and Australia's largest tourist resort. The South Coast Town Council changed its name to the Gold Coast Town Council in 1958 and Queensland officially proclaimed it the city of Gold Coast on May 16, 1959.

The subtropical climate, attractive surf beaches (the closest to Brisbane), and savvy marketing have attracted millions of tourists domestically and internationally, and a large industry has arisen to support them. The narrow coastal strip is consequently covered with high-rise apartments, hotels, nightclubs, and the usual assortment of shops selling cheap tourist paraphernalia.

The area also attracts large numbers of retired people.

It has a local newspaper called The Gold Coast Bulletin, partially newspaper, partially tabloid.

Thanks to a new link to the State Capital Brisbane with the recent Pacific Motorway upgrade, taking three years finishing in 2000 at a cost of just under A$1 billion, the Gold Coast is served by two major airports, Brisbane International Airport and Gold Coast Airport.

The Gold Coast is also host to the annual Lexmark Indy 300 Champ Car race, held in the streets of Surfers Paradise.

The mayor of the Gold Coast is the former Olympic middle distance athelete Ron Clarke.

Geography

The Gold Coast is situated in the southeast corner of Queensland from south of Brisbane to the border with New South Wales. The southernmost part is Coolangatta which includes Point Danger and its lighthouse. At Latitude 28.1667 degrees south, Longitude 153.55 degrees east, this is the most easterly point on the Queensland mainland (Point Lookout on the offshore island of North Stradbroke is slightly further east). From Coolangatta about 40 Kms. of surfing beaches stretch north as far as Southport the Gold Coast's commercial centre, (latitude about 27.7 degrees south). The administrative area of the Gold Coast City Council continues north up to Lamington National Park

• Springbrook National Park
• Tamborine National Park

Colleges and universities

• Bond University
• Central Queensland University
• Gold Coast Institute of TAFE
• Griffith University

Weather

The Gold Coast has a subtropical climate with warm, mild winters and hot, bright summers. The Gold Coast is subject to humidity, mainly at the start of each calendar year.

Some of its climatic features:

• Average summer daily temperature range — 19°C to 29°C
• Average winter daily temperature range — 9°C to 21°C
• Average of 287 days of Sunshine per year