The Gold Coast’s golden sands are one of its biggest drawcards. Tourists from around the world flock to the region to bask in the sun and surf its famous breaks. But those arriving today are met with an entirely different scene.
“We came down here today to see the beach and got such a shock to see the change,” said visitor Gillian Douglas last week.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred brought with it massive swells that pounded the coastline for more than a week, washing away an estimated 2000 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of sand.
“I can't believe the difference in how much sand has been taken away,” said another visitor, Steve Farmer.
But the race to rebuild is well in motion. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate told 1News of his ambitious plan to restore the beaches as quickly as possible.
“With the beach, 80% of the sand, that's 50 kilometres of it, was taken away and now in the waves in the ocean.
"It's still sitting there just behind the surf and the dredge will pump the sand from there and then shoot through the hose and it looks like a right nick-nack into the sand back onto the beach," he said.
Tate is referring to a technique known as Rainbow Dredging. A barge located half a kilometre offshore will suck sand from the ocean floor, before blasting it back toward the shoreline in an arc. It's an approach that has been used before but never at this scale.
“I've budgeted around $15 million but if you consider replenishing 50 kilometres of beach. We’ve done this successfully in the past, and the beach will be open and it will be great,” Tate insists.
Coastal engineer Angus Jenkins told the ABC that the plan to restore the beaches within five weeks was "no problem, as long as we don't get another cyclone".
Others were yet to be convinced.
“I can’t see how it’ll be back to how it was by April school holidays,” said resident Nick Rushby, voicing the concerns of many who believe nature will take far longer to repair itself.
Economic concerns
Business owners, many of whom have already endured major losses, are frustrated. One cafe owner in Surfers Paradise directly confronted Tate, demanding answers on where he was when the storm hit.
“Do you know what we've been through?” she said, her voice filled with emotion. “Where the bloody hell are you?
The economic fallout
The loss of tourism revenue is only one part of the problem. Queensland and northern New South Wales account for around 15% of the Australian economy, meaning any prolonged disruption could have far-reaching effects.
Every day that businesses remain affected is estimated to cost the economy roughly a billion dollars. And beyond that, the damage to homes and infrastructure is staggering.
Tens of thousands of insurance claims have already been lodged, leading to warnings that insurance premiums could rise potentially fuelling inflation that had only recently begun to stabilise.
With the Easter break fast approaching, authorities remain under pressure to deliver quick results. But nature doesn’t always work on a human timeline, and full recovery may be a test of patience.
As efforts ramp up, locals and businesses are left hoping that the damage can be undone and that the Gold Coast’s famous beaches will soon return to their former glory.
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