Upper Coomera is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

in the

City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being th ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Upper Coomera had a population of 25,276 people.

Geography

Upper Coomera is located on the northern side of the Gold Coast on the western side of the M1 Pacific Motorway. It borders Willow Vale in the north, the Coomera River on the south which separates it from Oxenford and the Pacific Highway on the east which separates it from

Coomera Coomera is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Coomera had a population of 13,305 people. Geography Located next to the Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads), ...

Tamborine-Oxenford Road The Tamborine Mountain road network is a group of roads that provide access to the mountain community from various lowland localities. The network ensures continuity of access in times of flooding or other natural disasters, and during planned ma ...

(State Route 95) runs through from south-west to south-east. Upper Coomera and Coomera have long been the main centre of urban development on the Gold Coast and are considered to be, along with

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

and Robina, one of the Gold Coast's three urban centres. Upper Coomera is a heavily suburbanised suburb consisting of many large residential developments and commercial centres. Despite already being heavily developed and having a large population, Upper Coomera is predicted by both the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

and

Gold Coast City Council The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being th ...

to grow and develop at an exponential rate well into the next decade. Upper Coomera is a popular place of residence for dual-city commuters as it is placed roughly halfway between the central commercial districts of

and

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,252 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenl ...

and within reasonable travelling distance to Brisbane CBD.

History

The name Coomera comes from the Yugambeh word ''kumera'', a species of wattle. Upper Coomera War Memorial 01

In 1864, the British surveyed the land along

Coomera River The Coomera River is a perennial river located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim Region local government areas and covers an area of . Course and features Rising in Lam ...

with 15,000 acres reserved for agricultural purposes. In 1865, William Alfred Binstead became the first white man to take up land in Upper Coomera area near a ford in the river that later formed part of a mail run. A ferry service was set up downstream which later became known as Coomera. The sugar industry was soon established in the region with the Otmoor plantation of Arthur Ardagh producing the first refined sugar in 1870.

South Sea Islander South Sea Islanders are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands and New Irelandwho were kidnappe ...

labour was utilised at Otmoor from its formation and by 1881 was the only type of labour used on the property. The Upper Coomera Cemetery was first surveyed in 1871 and it opened in 1885, but it was not until 3 years later that someone was buried there. By December 1888, an Anglican church had been built in Upper Coomera, but its opening was delayed until the return of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

William Webber from England to Queensland. The opening ceremony was conducted by the bishop on Sunday 31 March 1889 . The new Anglican Church of the Holy Road was opened on Saturday 18 December 1937 by Bishop

William Wand John William Charles Wand, (25 January 1885 – 16 August 1977) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia before returning to England to become the Bishop of Bath and Wells before becoming the Bishop of Lon ...

. The Upper Coomera Shire War Memorial is on the corner of Oxenford and Tamborine Road () and was unveiled on Saturday 18 May 1918 by

Edward Macartney Sir Edward Henry Macartney (24 January 1863 – 24 February 1956) was a solicitor, company director and a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Early years Macartney was born in Holywood, County Down, Ireland, to parents William Isa ...

, Member of the Queesland Legislative Assembly. The memorial originally only honoured those from the district who fell in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; however, the names of those who perished during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

were added later. The inscriptions on the memorial read:

"This memorial was erected by the residents, in honour of the brave lads of the Coomera district who fell in the Great War 1914-19. They gave their all. Let you who pass, saluting here their names,See that through you no slur, nor stain, nor shame Falls on the land for which they gave their lives - AUSTRALIA."

Coomera Upper Provisional School opened on 23 October 1876. On 15 July 1878 it became Coomera Upper State School. It closed in 1964. Fern Hill State School opened in 1910 and closed on 24 March 1914. The first bridge across the Coomera river was built in the 1930s. Saint Stephen's College opened in 1996. Coomera Anglican College was established on 27 January 1997 by the

Anglican Diocese of Brisbane The Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, also known as Anglican Church Southern Queensland, is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The diocese stretches from the south-eastern coastli ...

. Upper Coomera State College opened on 1 January 2003. Assisi Catholic College opened on 25 January 2005. Coomera Springs State School opened in January 2008 on an site with approximately 90 students initially enrolled. Highland Reserve State School was officially opened in January 2009 by

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is a ...

Anna Bligh. The school was originally proposed to be called Oxenford West State School. In the , Upper Coomera had a population of 25,276 people. Upper Coomera had one of the largest communities of both New Zealand Australians (894 people; 3.5%) and Māori Australians (1,549 people; 4.3%) of any suburb in

Heritage listings

Upper Coomera has a number of heritage sites, including: * Intersection of Tamborine-Oxenford Road and Charlies Crossing Road North: Upper Coomera War Memorial

Education

Primary-only schools

Coomera Springs State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Old Coach Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 899 students with 60 teachers (56 full-time equivalent) and 29 non-teaching staff (22 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. Highland Reserve State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 570 Reserve Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 902 students with 62 teachers (58 full-time equivalent) and 45 non-teaching staff (25 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.

Primary and secondary schools

Upper Coomera State College Upper Coomera State College (UCSC), established in 2003, is a state school situated in the developing Coomera area in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Education Queensland The Department of Education is a ministerial ...

is a government primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 137 Reserve Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 2,037 students with 180 teachers (169 full-time equivalent) and 96 non-teaching staff (69 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Assisi Catholic College is a Catholic primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 173 Billinghurst Crescent (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,398 students with 97 teachers (91 full-time equivalent) and 54 non-teaching staff (41 full-time equivalent).

Coomera Anglican College Coomera Anglican College is an independent Anglican co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school ng Centre on the same campus. The College is located on Days Road in Upper Coomera, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1997 and o ...

is a private primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 8 Days Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1,407 students with 92 teachers (88 full-time equivalent) and 61 non-teaching staff (57 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,414 students with 92 teachers (90 full-time equivalent) and 62 non-teaching staff (57 full-time equivalent). It has a sports centre, which includes two full size netball courts as well as a full commercial gym operated by Coomera Focus on Fitness and available for use by the local community. The current principal is Mark D Sly. Saint Stephen's College is a private primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 31 Reserve Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1,294 students with 97 teachers (94 full-time equivalent) and 76 non-teaching staff (65 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,265 students with 98 teachers (93 full-time equivalent) and 79 non-teaching staff (65 full-time equivalent).

Community

Upper Coomera School of Arts opened 1896

The Upper Coomera Community Centre is located on Reserve Road and contains the office of Councillor Donna Gates, Customer Service Office, Aquatic Centre, and Upper Coomera Branch Library. The community centre opened on 14 June 2013. The Upper Coomera Branch Library opened in April 2013 and is the newest branch of the

Gold Coast libraries The City of Gold Coast is the Local government in Australia, local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local g ...

. The Upper Coomera School of Arts was established in 1896. It is used for public meetings and other community purposes.

Shopping

Upper Coomera has several shopping venues, the main ones being Coomera City Centre, Coomera Grand Shopping Centre and The Hub at the junction of Days Road and Old Coach Road. Together they consist of Woolworths and

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

supermarkets, and various other stores. Also located throughout the suburb in smaller shopping villages are Coles supermarkets. Various fast food outlets exist in Upper Coomera including two

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

restaurants,

Hungry Jack's Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd. is an Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's owns and operates or sub- ...

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...

, Subway,

Nandos Nando's (; ) is a South African multinational fast casual chain that specialises in flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken. Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outlets in 30 countries. Their logo (also seen as a sort ...

, KFC, Pizza Capers and

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and List of coffeehouse chains, coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised r ...

. Nearby major shopping centres include

Westfield Coomera Westfield Coomera is a shopping centre in the Gold Coast suburb of Coomera in Queensland, Australia. It is located adjacent to the Coomera railway station and 500 metres from the Pacific Motorway that connects Coomera with the southern suburbs ...

Westfield Helensvale Westfield Helensvale also referred to as Helensvale Town Centre, is a shopping centre at Helensvale on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It opened in 2005. It was the first Westfield on the Gold Coast and includes Coles, Kmart, Aldi, Tar ...

Robina Town Centre Robina Town Centre is the second largest shopping center on the Gold Coast, Australia after the recently redeveloped Pacific Fair, covering in the suburb of Robina, with seven anchor tenants and over 400 retail outlets covering over . Hi ...

Pacific Fair Shopping Centre Pacific Fair is a major shopping centre in Broadbeach Waters on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was Queensland's largest regional shopping centre until 2006. Pacific Fair was developed by Hooker Retail Developments and opened in 1977 ...

Harbour Town Shopping Centre Harbour Town is a shopping centre concept that incorporates multiple factory outlets in one centre. As of February 2021, there are two locations owned and operated under the Harbour Town brand: Biggera Waters, on Queensland's Gold Coast, an ...

and

Australia Fair Shopping Centre Australia Fair Shopping Centre is a dual-level regional shopping centre covering located in Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland. The centre also incorporates a five-level office tower comprising of office space, housing specialist services and ...

. The

shopping centre in the neighbouring suburb of

is a new addition to the local area.

Entertainment

Upper Coomera has a number of hotels, cafes and restaurants, catering to families.

Public transport

Upper Coomera is well serviced by a variety of bus routes provided by Surfside Bus Lines and operated by Translink. There is also a

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...

on Foxwell Road in the neighbouring suburb of Coomera.

References

External links

*
Upper Coomera Branch Library
{{Localities in Gold Coast Suburbs of the Gold Coast, Queensland