Cooly Rocks On; A Window into 1950s Australia
The Gold Coast is situated in the south east corner of Queensland
In 2011 the City of Gold Coast started a festival to celebrate the culture of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Their goal was to show off the loud cars, big hair, vivid style, rebellious music and nature of a post-world war generation. The festival takes place in Coolangatta, on the Gold Coast, which was one of Australia’s first popular tourist destinations. The Gold Coast was not always littered with skyscrapers containing bars and other establishments to fulfill all your wants and needs. A lot of arduous work and careful marketing was required to develop the Gold Coast into the 3.6-billion-dollar tourism giant it is today. So, buckle up, slick your hair back and light up a 1950s cigarette that all good doctors recommend, while I take you on a trip through the history of The Gold Coast.
John Oxley landed his boat 'The Mermaid', on the south coast of Queensland in 1823. He named the beach after his boat, Mermaid Beach. His party disembarked onto a vast stretch of sand that at this time was inhabited by the Kombumerri Clan whose land extended from the Coomera River, south to Tallebudgera Creek and inland to the Gold Coast Hinterlands. For the next 20 years, European settlers left Queensland’s south coast alone, until the NSW government performed a land survey in the 1840s, unveiling a substantial supply of red cedars and extremely fertile lands for developing sugar and cotton plantations, as well as cattle grazing land. A few small settlements began to establish; Nerang, established in 1865; Southport 10 years later in 1874; and Coolangatta 20 years later in 1883. Despite the proximity of this region to the already established Town of Brisbane, access was difficult due to the perilous bush tracks, creek crossings, and mountainous terrain one would have to traverse, all while competing with dense rain forest. Coach services began departing from Brisbane 3 times a week, to the South Coast Region in 1871, otherwise a resident of Brisbane could hop on a boat and set sail from Moreton Bay, landing anywhere along the coast. Residents of Brisbane were presented with the ultimate solution in 1889, a new railway line from Beenleigh station to Southport allowing residents of Brisbane to access the South Coast with ease.
The Hydrant rocking some 50s classics on stage
For the next 30 years, the South Coast region experienced steady population growth. People took advantage of the prime agricultural land, growing cotton and sugar, with others focusing on a blossoming tourism industry. People from Brisbane and Ipswich were choosing to spend their leisure time fishing and bathing at the beach in their full-length cotton bathing suits or taking in the views at Kirra Hill. In 1925 an entrepreneurial fellow named Jim Cavill opened the Surfers Paradise Hotel in the Elston area (renamed Surfers Paradise in 1933), to take advantage of the new Coastal Road and Jubilee Bridge that granted access to Surfers Paradise and an uninterrupted view of the Pacific Ocean. The Surfers Paradise hotel was built at the intersection of the new coastal road and the old coach track and used its beautiful architecture, extremely luxurious rooms, and an on-premises zoo to entice families into visiting.
The region was developing fast with the designation of new housing estates and hotels and tourist destinations opening all along the coastal road. Of course, the South Coast had its difficulties. Along with the rest of the country, The Great Depression wreaked havoc on Australians’ wallets leaving them unable to afford leisure activities. Then along came World War II. Australia was in full military developing mode, and 37% of the country’s GDP was being used to fund the war effort. In 1942 the beaches of the South Coast were repurposed into rest areas for American soldiers on deployment. The Americans had presumably heard about the beauty of the area from their Australian allies. The rest of the region started focusing on manufacturing and supporting the war front rather than catching waves. The end of the second war saw a massive increase in the South Coast’s tourism industry. The region became extremely popular with retiring service members who needed a change of scenery and lifestyle.
Classic Wagon in front of the Pink Hotel
Dancing at the main stage of Cooly Rocks On
Not a classic milk bar, but there are milkshakes!
Beautiful classic Buick in front of the Pink Hotel. The hotel is modeled after an old school 50s hotel inside and out.
Finally, we reach the 1950s. During this decade, the South Coast became the Gold Coast both in name and in lifestyle. The Town of South Coast was officially established in 1949 with the amalgamation of the Town of Coolangatta, The Town of Southport, and the coastal areas from the Shire of Nerang. Before this amalgamation, there were 10 Local government areas between the City of Brisbane and The NSW Border, in contrast to the three local government areas of today’s Queensland. The popularity of the region affected property prices, which many locals considered overvalued, nicknaming the area, the Gold Coast out of mean-spiritedness. Real estate moguls and the media however loved the name and began unofficially referring to the area as the Gold Coast until 1959 when the town was officially renamed.
Post-war Australia was kicking! The economy was doing well, which meant people had money to spend, and they spent it on cars and entertainment. Residents of Brisbane and Ipswich were hitting the road in their new FX Holden, with caravan and family in tow, and headed south with Coolangatta being the favourite spot. Surfers Paradise became the home of the El Dorado Motel in 1954, looking to capitalise on the family holiday market. Accommodation on the coast was limited to camping, hotels or renting houses until 1954, when The El Dorado opened its doors setting a new standard for other hoteliers on the coast. The motel featured a quality pool, car parking outside your room for convenience and that vibrant fifty’s flair. Lennon’s Hotel was the next venture to take a shot at fixing the accommodation shortage, occupying land in Broadbeach, an area which had been heavily mined for its mineral sands. The Lennon’s hotel experience was designed to be elegant and incredibly glamorous. Employees adorned bow ties, fitting the formal standard; the bar was stocked with the finest liquor, and outfitted with furniture apt for a Saudi Prince’s backup yacht; and a conference room, perfect for all those mid-holiday business meetings. Unfortunately, the audience they were trying to attract were not biting and the hotel ended up sticking their employees in floral Hawaiian shirts and, one can only assume thongs to accommodate the less fancy. Lennon’s Hotel inspired other hoteliers to go big or go home, and the Kinkabool Hotel was brought into existence in 1959, cementing a trend that the Gold Coast would forever follow. Bigger is Better.
So, what did people do in the 1950s? The Gold Coast was advertised to the world as a place of pure leisure. Advertising material focused on the ‘16 miles (26 kilometres) of beautiful beaches and the opportune surfing conditions. A brochure, which appears to target an international audience, mentions water skiing on the Nerang River, 3 Golf Courses, Tennis, and Horseback riding as just a few activities. At night the Gold Coast became a glitzy, neon-lit wonderland. Most motels had their own entertainment including lavish bars and restaurants, but the real entertainment could be found at the new Chevron Skyline Cabaret Nightclub. This rooftop nightclub featured a swanky, colourful interior, hundreds of seats and massive windows surrounding almost the entire rooftop club, offering patrons a chance to admire the ocean-side playground that they had been dreaming of. Guests were treated to as much food and drink as their hearts desired all while watching internationally famed musical acts give it their all on the stage. There were a few other entertainment venues of this calibre, including the Playroom in Palm Beach and Twin Towns in Coolangatta.
Cabaret shows were cool, but the Gold Coast youth needed a way to occupy their nights. What better way than to borrow the family car and set up at the Burleigh Drive-In for a little game of backseat bingo. The Burleigh Drive-In was the first Drive-in Theatre to open on the Gold Coast, being officially opened in 1957, and screening ‘The Million Pound Note’. No doubt many teens witnessed the first run of movies being imported in from the United States at the Burleigh Drive-In, creating an infatuation with the culture of our newest ally and influence. Our big brother America was pretty cool. It had angry, deafening, gas-guzzling V8s; movies about rebellious teens getting up to no good and wearing leather jackets; and music that could summon the devil through the hip-shaking rhythm provided by the demon spawn like Jerry Lee Lewis. Great Britain, who was up until this point, a huge influence on the identity of Australia had been slightly dethroned. Australia being a young, independent country was still searching for an identity and began finding it during these coming decades.
A line up of Toranas. Love the backend of these cars and the Colour range is awesome.
Camaros are my favorite muscle car. Love the design of them. Here is one outside of the Pink Hotel.
Cars were a massive part of 1950s culture, in fact, car ownership during the 1950s was at an all-time high. Petrol rationing for the war effort had ended and the factories and labour involved could be refocused on the automotive industry, building both Australian-made vehicles and constructing and maintaining Australia’s road network. The family car officially became a necessity and allowed the family breadwinner to travel further out of their neighbourhood to find work, which was a revolution and the beginning of office and industrial districts. Most of the cars you would see on the road post-war were from England. These were Morris Minors, Hillman Minx and Triumphs. Importing cars from the US was difficult due to import laws that prevented Australian citizens from purchasing anything from the US with Pounds-Sterling currency. There were workarounds, with American companies manufacturing their vehicles in Canada and then exporting from there, in some cases under a different brand name. Australia realised they needed to start manufacturing cars on home turf and allowed Ford and Holden to open manufacturing plants in Australia during the early fifties, creating a rivalry that would be fought on racetracks and in city streets for the next 5 decades.
Cooly Rocks On does an incredible job of taking you back to the fifties, the moment you enter the festival you are assaulted by rockabilly music that is played across two stages, you’ll find yourself parting seas of leather, flowing dresses and Brylcreem and then exiting onto streets that are awash with Caddys and Camaros. It can be quite overwhelming, and I imagine startling if you were not expecting it. It is so incredible that a government body would consider this era of history important to celebrate. The era is of major significance for Australia, it allowed us to flourish, find an identity and begin to make a presence on the world stage. They have done an excellent job of providing something for everyone to relate to from car fanatics like me, to fashion icons who cannot resist a big head of hair and a flowy, red, polka-dotted dress.
