REMEMBER WHEN

LAND development was a hot topic on the Gold Coast in the mid-1970s.

In September 1976, the Bulletin revealed the Albert Shire Council planned to allow 13,000 acres of “frozen” land in Merrimac to be developed.

The water flood plains were to be the subject of a $13 million flood mitigation scheme, with developers and builders expected to pick up one third of the cost.

The land named as the site of the future development was described as being east of the M1 between Nerang and Mudgeeraba, land which now takes in Robina and Merrimac.

The Robina region was developed in the early 1980s by Robin Loh and Arthur Earle.

In other political news, Mayor and National Party Surfers Paradise MP Sir Bruce Small said he was confident the Liberal Party would not run a candidate against him in the upcoming elections.

Sir Bruce, who had held the seat since 1972, was challenged by fellow councillor and Liberal Party candidate Bruce Bishop who won on Labor preferences at the 1977 poll.

Meanwhile, this edition of the Bulletin went down in history in a time capsule at the Evandale council chambers to mark its opening. The September 11, 1976 edition was placed inside the lead capsule along with brochures, films, statistics and posters before Local Government Minister Russ Hinze sealed it, not to be opened until 2026.

However, it was not to be, with the time capsule brought to the surface in late 2015 before the chambers were demolished to make way for HOTA