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Barefoot Fish
Attractions & Activities Welcome to the Gold Coast
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A BRIEF HISTORY
For 23,000 years before European settlement, the Gold Coast was home to traditional owners and custodians, the Yugambeh people. The first Europeans visited the area to source timber. By the end of the 19th Century, locals from Brisbane travelled by boat to the Gold Coast to spend some time seaside. In 1885 the State Governor built a seaside home in Southport, catapulting the region into a fashionable resort location for the wealthy and influential. By 1889 the train line was extended from Brisbane and in 1925, a new coastal road linking Brisbane to the beach was completed. The seaside towns that dotted the coast became an ‘R&R’ haven for the thousands of Australian and Allied Armed Forces during World War II who introduced milk bars and jazz music to local culture. In 1933 the township around a prominent hotel was named ‘Surfers Paradise’. It became the place to buy and sell land in the post-war real estate boom. In 1949 the towns from Southport to Coolangatta joined to become the Town of the Gold Coast. While the name was used to describe a real estate boom, it also represented the golden sand, sunshine and healthy living. With peace came prosperity and significant developments were built to secure the Gold Coast’s place as a major holiday destination, known for relaxation, fun and glamour. The first high-rise was built in Surfers Paradise in 1959. In less than a century, the Gold Coast evolved from a series of seaside villages to one of the most famous holiday destinations in the world.
SURFERS PARADISE
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A 20 minute session where you place your feet in a fi sh tank while the fi sh gently massage, stimulate circulation and exfoliate.
