Gold Coast Waterways – A Brief History

Waterfront homes and canal living is a feature of the Gold Coast with most canal frontage homes having pontoons and the ability to dock private boats. These residential canals were first built on the Gold Coast in the 1950s. Today there are over 860 km (530 miles) of navigable tidal waterways, nine times more waterways than in the city of Venice, Italy.

Australians are a coastal people, known worldwide for our leisure and lifestyle, leading what is widely termed a “Mediterranean” lifestyle with our alfresco-designed homes and cuisine, and the culture of the people is influenced by their attachment to the sea. Some of the more popular and prestigious residential areas are within walking distance from the dining and entertainment precincts of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach on the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast’s fine weather allows extended months of the year for boating whether as a physical activity or social relaxation. Immediate access to coastal and inland waterways makes boating a popular pastime.

Waterfront residential homes can be found throughout the South East Queensland, Gold Coast area. There are also beaches along many of the waterways. Popular inland beaches include the areas of Southport, Budds Beach, Marine Stadium, Jacobs Well, Jabiru Island and Paradise Point which all have direct access to the Gold Coast’s Broadwater. The Broadwater is protected by the coastal islands of North and South Stradbroke Islands. Access to the ocean from the Broadwater is through the Gold Coast Seaway.

The Gold Coast Seaway is a channel of water between The Spit and South Stradbroke Island and allows vessels direct access to the Pacific Ocean from the Broadwater and many of the city’s canal estates.

There are approximately one million boats registered in Australia and 30,000 new boats are registered every year. There are one million Australians with a boat license. One in five Australians claim to be “boaties”, with one in 23 having access to a boat. There are 25 percent of the Australian population, who claim to go boating, that is 5.8 million “boaties”. In the state of Queensland, 34 percent of the population go boating.