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The Gold Coast's Image Is for Sale

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The Gold Coast's Image Is for Sale Invisible Landscapes Interpreting the unconventional cultural landscape of Surfers Paradise School of Design and Built Environment A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Queensland University of Technology for the degree of Master of the Built Environment (Urban Design) 2001 Victoria Ann Jones Bachelor of Planning & Design (University of Melbourne) Graduate Diploma Urban Planning (Victoria University of Technology) Graduate Diploma Urban Design (Queensland University of Technology) Invisible Landscapes… II Our forebears kindly searched the earth for such a place as this They never knew their great grand kids would consider it such bliss So to this Golden Strip of Queensland, in retirement I have come To such an aura of good health, exuberance, and fun The feel of sun, the pound of surf, a leisurely way of life Induces happy people, one can’t envisage strife The hinterland is beautiful (what odd shaped bumps and mounds?) Forest glades, running brooks, a joy of scents and sounds I hope they never spoil it, just to make a buck Keep it just the way it is not housing run amuck Excerpt from poem by Ian Perkins, Broadbeach Gold Coast Bulletin 6 September 1979, p6 Invisible Landscapes… III ABSTRACT In most, if not all cultural landscapes there is a fascination with the visible landscape. Aesthetics are a primary carrier of meaning in the culture and identity of cities, however, reliance on what is visible to interpret the landscape denies substantive recognition of the complexity of meanings and values embedded in the landscape. If we are to gain a more rounded appreciation of cultural landscapes, we need to become better at complex perception to include consideration of the economic, social and political landscapes which are integral to the substance of the city. This dissertation focuses on a case study of Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. It is a city with dominant post-modern mannerisms, whose physical form and expression eschew the conventional socio-political order of cities, confounding proper understanding of its cultural landscape. It is also fast-growing, greatly reliant on its tourism and housing construction economies. Its dynamic and constantly evolving cultural landscape, used as the basis for marketing and promotion, is a precious resource. To manage this resource effectively, and ensure that the city continues to be 'The Coast with the Most' that is 'Always Changing, Ever Amazing'1, we need to understand its cultural complexities better. The study attempts to set wider interpretative parameters for cultural landscapes, through revealing 'invisible landscapes' which cannot be conveyed instantaneously through sight-seeing tours or snapshot imagery. While not the focus of this study, emerging from it are implications for managing the city, which may have relevance to other cities that have unwittingly adopted some of the Gold Coast's post-modern thematic and spectacular characteristics. 1 Current and former Tourism Queensland marketing slogans Invisible Landscapes… I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research project would not have been completed without the support of a number of special people. I am especially grateful to my supervisor, Dr Helen Armstrong at the Queensland University of Technology, School of Design and Built Environment for her interest, friendly criticism and faith in my pursuit of this uncharacteristically optimistic academic perspective of the Gold Coast. Richard Allom, Conservation Architect and Heritage Adviser to the Gold Coast City Council, was influential in forming my understanding of why the Gold Coast is an exceptional city. Librarians Pat Fischer, Elizabeth Baker, Sue Mills, Elizabeth Richardson and Elaine McKenzie at the Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library, were always generous and helpful during my extensive use of the microfilm reader to retrieve historical newspaper data. Michael Papageorgiou, Manager Strategic and Environmental Planning at the Gold Coast City Council has kept me up-to-date with recent events and progress of the city’s planning scheme review. Dr Danny O’Hare, at the Queensland University of Technology, School of Design and Built Environment, provided me with encouragement, administrative support and early advice to reduce my data collection ambitions to a manageable load. Sam Sosnowski, friend and artist, produced the cover design. Finally, I acknowledge the unconditional support of my parents, Enid and Gordon Jones who have endured my preoccupation with this project which has protracted in fits and starts over several years. Invisible Landscapes… II STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP This work has not been submitted for a degree or diploma at any higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, this dissertation contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signed…………………………………… Date……………………………. Invisible Landscapes… III CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ II STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ......................................................................... III TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ IV LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES ................................................................................................. VI 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTER .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 RATIONALE FOR PROJECT AND ITS FOCUS ON SURFERS PARADISE ............... 1 1.3 KEY DEFINITIONS ........................................................................................................... 2 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................. 3 1.5 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE RESEARCH PROJECT .............................. 4 1.5.1 Analytical Process ..................................................................................................... 4 1.5.2 Qualitative Data Inquiry............................................................................................ 6 1.6 STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION .................................................................................. 6 1.7 CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE .............................................................................. 7 2.0 HISTORICAL CONTEXT ............................................................................................... 9 2.1 QUEENSLAND: A PECULIAR STATE ........................................................................... 9 2.2 THE GOLD COAST: AN UNCONVENTIONAL AUSTRALIAN CITY ...................... 13 2.2.1 Colonial Gold Coast 1840s-1870s .......................................................................... 13 2.2.2 The Emergence of Difference 1870s-1957 ............................................................. 14 2.2.3 Playground of the Australian Dream 1957-1980s ................................................... 14 2.2.4 A City of Suburbs 1980s – present ......................................................................... 16 2.2.5 Points of Difference ................................................................................................ 17 2.2.6 History of Planning ................................................................................................. 21 2.3 HISTORICAL LIKENESSES WITH EAST COAST FLORIDA USA ........................... 25 3.0 POSITIONING THE RESEARCH IN THEORY & PRACTICE ............................. 31 3.1 CULTURAL LANDSCAPE CONCEPTS & PRACTICE ............................................... 31 3.1.1 Fascination with the Visual Landscape ................................................................... 31 3.1.2 Heritage Interpretations of Landscapes ................................................................... 32 3.1.3 Landscape as Text ................................................................................................... 32 3.1.4 Reading the Invisible Landscapes ........................................................................... 33 Invisible Landscapes… IV 3.1.5 Inconsistencies in Cultural Landscape Values ........................................................ 34 3.2 CONCEPTS OF PLANNING & DESIGN FOR DYNAMIC ........................................... 35 BEACHSIDE TOURIST CITIES 3.2.1 Normative Understandings of Cities ....................................................................... 35 3.2.2 Spontaneous Expression as a City ........................................................................... 36 3.2.3 Coming to Grips with the Post-Industrial Cities ..................................................... 36 3.2.4 Heritage Interpretations of Cities ............................................................................ 40 3.2.5 New Urbanism, Celebration & the Gold Coast’s Crisis of Confidence ................. 43 3.2.6 The Cultural Centrality of the Beach ....................................................................... 44 3.2.7 The Importance of Place Distinctiveness for Tourist Cities .................................... 48 3.2.8 Sustainable Tourism ...............................................................................................
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