As I crossed the state line from New South Wales into Queensland I was welcomed to the ‘sunshine state’ by the Gold Coast. Sitting in traffic amid the towering hotels and apartment blocks all trying to catch a glimpse of the sea, I found myself feeling penned in by the concrete that seemed to be swallowing me like it had surely swallowed the very things that once earned this place such an alluring name.
People had told me that the Gold Coast was something of a soulless place. “It’s like a little bit of America got marooned on the southern beaches of Queensland,” said one Australian I met, and in some respects I can see why they came to that conclusion. With names like Palm Beach, and Miami strung together at the end of the Pacific Coast Highway, the place does indeed seem a little like America, or at least the scene of a collision between the two countries.
It’s not pretty. It feels fake, like the girls who adorn the billboards for local tattoo parlours. Like a film set upon which at any moment a tire screeching car chase might come careering around the next corner with bandits hanging out of car windows shooting back at police cars in hot pursuit, their sirens wailing.
The city of Surfers Paradise reaches into the sky and claws at the clouds like any American city you can think of. It’s a bland city, that stands undistinguished like a glass of water at a cocktail bar. If shopping at stores you can find anywhere is your kind of thing then I’m told Surfers Paradise is great.
Nobody outside Australia knows about this city. It lacks the international charisma a city needs to stand on the world stage and be noticed. Instead Surfers Paradise seems to be gorging on concrete and steel as if comfort eating to offset the pain of watching its siblings, like Sydney and Melbourne, get all the attention.
In theory the Gold Coast is wonderful. In reality though it seems to be a mess. A blend of ordinary beaches with buildings that stand like headstones in tribute to the dead dreams of commercially minded planners who thought they could find their way to the bottom of our pockets by giving an ugly place an attractive name.
I wish I could tell you something positive about the Gold Coast. I’m sure there is something, but perhaps unfairly, I didn’t hang around long enough to unearth it. As soon as I got to the Gold Coast I found myself looking for the exit. I stayed as long as I thought was polite, then I left.
It could be that my impressions were colored by the fact that I found these concrete caves as I emerged from the mellowed out haze of the tree houses and Byron Bay. Perhaps if I had descended into Surfers Paradise from a jet plane, transported from one mass of concrete to another, my first impressions would have been kinder. Maybe the Gold Coast is an acquired taste, but I can’t imagine that I’ll be going back anytime soon to find out.
—
Wrote the following comment on Sep 5, 2011 at 6:59 am
I just found a show on Hulu called “The Strip” that describes the Gold Coast as, “Ninety magic miles of brilliant white sand. Turquoise ocean to one side, rainforest with crocodiles to the other. And in the middle, a sophisticated city sprawl of skyscrapers, casinos, nightclubs, backpacker dives; peopled with a mix of supermodels, film producers, mum and dad tourists, Russian Mafia, Saudi sheiks, carpetbaggers and dream seekers.” Now, as a result of reading your post I’m having some doubts. Who to believe? I mean surely if there were supermodels Simon, of all people, would surely have made mention. But why would this show lie? I just don’t get it.
The Strip is a detective story the description of which continues, “It’s here that detective Frances Tully, a local with knowledge, is partnered with detective Jack Cross, a tough cop from the south. A mismatched team writing their own rules. Men of action, on the move, heroically supported by the best detective team in the country, always determined to solve the crime, whatever it takes.” So, in light of your insider knowledge, how would you write the blurb for the show?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 5, 2011 at 7:47 am
That description doesn’t sound wildly wrong to me Anthony, but then that description sounds awful to me to. The Gold Coast is actually quite nice if you hold it in comparison to similar American places. But by Australian standards it’s a poor player, a misfit, the drunk aunt at a wedding whose got too much make up on and is embarrassingly trying to pick up guys half her age. I’ll agree that there is beauty to this place, but it’s a kind of porn star beauty, in that the beauty can only survive in the singular context its meant to be seen in.
If Australian cities were girls out on the town, Surfers Paradise would be the insecure one who drinks to much and wears something to show off the fake tits she’s paying off in instalments. There may indeed be some real beauty there but I’m not convinced anyone cares if this girl can sing, cook, dance or write poetry. Surfers Paradise is a city you fuck, not a city you fall in love with.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 5, 2011 at 12:47 pm
First pix reminds me of the endless HDB public housing in Singapore :P with limited land and so many people you can only build up, but Oz has so much land why do they need to build high rise?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 5, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Dude, what are you saying?!? “The Gold Coast is actually quite nice if you hold it in comparison to similar American places.” Now I’m feeling kinda cheap like I’m gonna wake up and find some money on the dresser. And maybe if I’m lucky I’ll find a note that says “It was fun while it lasted, but I found my true love now.”
Wrote the following comment on Sep 5, 2011 at 10:18 pm
@ Anthony – Come on, you know what I meant ;-)
To be clear, I meant that the Gold Coast feels more American than it does Australian. The place feels alien somehow, so by American standards its fine, but this isn’t America.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 6, 2011 at 11:03 pm
This is the real test. If you had to choose between there and Liverpool, where would you pick?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 9, 2011 at 10:52 am
@ Big Dave – Well Dave, you know I can make all kinds of adjustments so I would have to say that I would give the Concrete Coast a fair go, but that’s not to say Liverpool is worse, its just that I have already lived in the Liverpool area. :)