THE OILS, INXS AND ROCKIN’ FISHO’S
From a racetrack to a monorail connection, The Spit saw off plenty of controversial ideas in the 1990s, but one place remained a staple.
DEVELOPMENT on the southern end of The Spit went into overdrive in the 1980s as some of the city’s most famous luxury resorts and projects took shape.
With impossible-to-replicate views of the Broadwater and ocean, developers circled with big dreams.
Part one of the Bulletin’s look back at development in the area charted the dramatic changes to the area from the 1960s to the 1980s, including Sea World, Andalucia Park, The Sheraton Mirage and business mogul Christopher Skase’s controversial attempt to build a golf course.
Part two picks up with the creation of one of the city’s beloved music and shopping venues, Fisherman’s Wharf.
The brainchild of Brisbanebased developer and dentist Dr Nick Girdis, it was built and opened in 1983, and became an immediate hit.
Among those to perform there were INXS, Midnight Oil, the Violent Femmes, Nirvana, Joe Cocker and Jimmy Barnes.
By the late 1980s, Fisherman’s Wharf was joined by Skase’s famous Marina Mirage complex, the Mariner’s Cove centre and Sea World’s Nara Resort.
The area largely was unchanged for the next decade.
However, several highly controversial proposals were flagged.
In early 1990, the Project Design Finance Corporation pitched plans to the Gold Coast City Council for a multimillion-dollar park and motor raceway on 125ha of Crown land at The Spit to become the permanent host of the Indy carnival.
Project design co-ordinator William Shillingford said at the time the company would spend more than $20m on the Gold Coast Pacific Park, which was to have a 4.3km scenic drive for conversion to a race circuit, an aquatic stadium, marina, restaurant, carparks and amphitheatre.
But then-mayor Lex Bell and then-environment Minister Pat Comben were aghast at the proposal.
“The council thought the proposal was most unfavourable and there were too many environmental issues involved,” Ald Bell said.
Mr Comben described it as being “against everything we stand for in terms of coastal protection”.
The council voted it down. Further developments proposed in the early 1990s led to then-southport councillor and future MP Peter Lawlor to call for the state government to block further large-scale projects. He described the issue as a “ticking time bomb”.
“If it had not been for the recession there would have been great pressure for the council to approve something in the nature of a low-rise resort or hotel,” he said.
There was one person who still favoured greater development – Sea World founder Keith Williams, who in 1992 claimed The Spit had “become a breeding ground for perverts and hobos” and he wouldn’t let his wife walk there.
A year later the Goss government considered reviving 1980s-era plans for a citywide monorail system that would run from Broadbeach to The Spit, but the project never proceeded.
By the late 1990s, the southern Spit remained a hive of activity, but one of its key venues was in deep trouble.
Despite being a great place to go, Fisherman’s Wharf itself was struggling and repeatedly changed hands. It was finally sold to developer Sunland Group, which announced in late 1997 that the complex would close in January 1998 after a final series of concerts.
Sunland said it initially planned to demolish the building to create a $200m four-star hotel. This was soon dumped after the company signed a deal with the Italy-based House of Versace to build the first fashion hotel.
Fisherman’s Wharf went out with a bang on January 4, 1998 with a Jimmy Barnes-led concert.
Fisherman’s Wharf was gone later that year and the site would become a construction site. Another business opened nearby using the name.
The Palazzo Versace hotel opened in September 2000.
But as a new millennium dawned, more developers began to circle The Spit.