REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Monday, May 2, 2011

A CLUB famed for revolutionising the

Gold Coast nightlife faced an uncertain future and was set to be demolished to make way for another Surfers Paradise high-rise.

The Bulletin learned negotiations were well advanced for the sale of land housing Swingin’ Safari, meaning the quirky hot spot could join city icons such as the Pink Poodle sign as relics.

The local attraction, built on a 920sq m block one street from the beach, was tipped to fetch up to $4 million.

The options for a new owner are endless as the site holds approval for a threestorey backpackers resort with bar, but is also zoned for high-rise buildings towering 50 storeys and commercial development.

Swingin’ Safari opened in 2003 in a retro 1950s Queenslander and is known for its great live music, teapots of cocktails, ping-pong tables and fancy dress clothes.

The Surfers Paradise Boulevard site started as a holiday home in the 1950s and ’60s, became Queensland’s first wine bar in the 1970s, and was the

Cooked Crab seafood restaurant until it became Swingin’ Safari in the naughties.

Club owner Neil Beattie said the future of his iconic bar and restaurant had always been uncertain.

‘‘I signed a three-month lease in 2003 and was only given a month-by-month lease after that period. ‘I am still here 11 years later but it has been living on the edge all these years. ‘‘I would like to stay here, but if not we will reopen at a new location.’’

Mr Beattie said he had dreamt of a venue like Swingin’ Safari since he was 28 years old.