| Gold Coast City Queensland |
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Gold Coast in South East Queensland |
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| Population: | 527,828(2010)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density: | 366.6/km² (949.5/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1948 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 1358 km² (524.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor: | Ron Clarke | ||||||||||||
| Council Seat: | Surfers Paradise | ||||||||||||
| Region: | South East Queensland | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Albert, Broadwater, Burleigh, Coomera, Currumbin, Gaven, Mermaid Beach, Mudgeeraba, Southport, Surfers Paradise | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Fadden, Forde, McPherson, Moncrieff | ||||||||||||
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Gold Coast City is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, and surrounding areas. Based on resident population, it is the second largest local government area in Australia and its council maintains a staff of over 2,500. It was established in 1948, but has existed in its present form since 1995.
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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 Southport Divisional Board on 14 July 1883.
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.
On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government in South East Queensland, an Order in Council renamed Southport to "Town of the South Coast" and amalgamated Coolangatta and coastal sections of the Shire of Nerang into the town's area, 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 Gold Coast Town, and on 16 May 1959, the Town was proclaimed as a City by the Governor, 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.
On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in South East Queensland be rationalised with a view to creating stronger local authorities with a single community of interest. After much public debate, 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 the 15 March 2008 local government elections.
Gold Coast City consists of the following suburbs and localities:
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Gold Coast suburbs:
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North of Coomera River:
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Western region:
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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 15 March 2008. Additionally, a mayor is elected by the entire City. The present mayor is Cr Ron Clarke.
Divisional Councillors are:
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 | ||
| 1971 | 66,697 | 6.15 | ||
| 1976 | 87,510 | 5.58 | 18,753 | N/A |
| 1981 | 117,824 | 6.13 | 54,870 | 23.95 |
| 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 |
Accommodation for Council officers has been an issue of some controversy since amalgamation of Gold Coast City with Albert Shire in 1996. The largest office is at Nerang but Council itself meets at the Evandale Office. Discussions about where a new combined central office have been ongoing with sites including Southport, Robina, Nerang, Evandale and Beenleigh all being investigated. Growth in staff numbers has meant existing Council owned office space is no longer sufficient and so commercial offices have been rented at Waterside West (Bundall) and at Varsity Lakes. The Robina NRL stadium was touted as a location for a new office tower for Council. Council resolved during October 2008 to construct a new highrise headquarters at Evandale, but the CEO is still promoting options at either Robina or Southport. The mayor has suggested options to secure space in highrises that have stalled due to the credit crisis. In 2009 a new plan emerged to vacate existing office space at Nerang and Surfers Paradise and move to three new green rated buildings at Southport (next to the library) and at Robina and Coomera (next to the stations).
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