Mermaid Beach is a coastal

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the

City of Gold Coast 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 ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , Mermaid Beach had a population of 7,329 people. Nobby Beach is a neighbourhood in the south of the suburb ().

Geography

The suburb is bounded to the west by the artificial canals of adjacent

Mermaid Waters Mermaid Waters is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mermaid Waters had a population of 13,088 people. Geography Mermaid Waters is primarily a residential suburb, featuring many homes built along artificial ...

and to the east by the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. To the north is the suburb of

Broadbeach Broadbeach is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Broadbeach had a population of 6,786 people. Geography The Broadbeach stretch was originally coastal forest. This gradual ...

, to the south

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. The

Gold Coast Highway Gold Coast Highway links the coastal suburbs of the Gold Coast in south eastern Queensland such as Miami, Mermaid Beach, Tugun, Bilinga and across the border of New South Wales to the Tweed Heads suburb of Tweed Heads West. At in length, ...

passes through Mermaid Beach. The

Gold Coast Oceanway The Gold Coast Oceanway is a foreshoreway for use by pedestrians and cyclists along the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia connecting the Point Danger lighthouse on the New South Wales and Queensland border to the Gold Coast Seaway. The net ...

(a pedestrian path) travels along Hedges Avenue.

History

Mermaid Beach receives its name from the cutter HMS ''Mermaid''. Explorer

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...

sailed aboard the ''Mermaid'' in 1823 when he discovered the nearby

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

rivers. Mermaid Beach was used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by US servicemen and was named Los Angeles Beach as well as Miami Beach to the south. Circa 1924, 70 allotments were advertised as "Mermaid Beach Estate" located at Mermaid Beach and Broadbeach to be auctioned by R. G. Oates Estates. The estate map has 3 estates for sale at Mermaid Beach and Broadbeach. The estates were divided in two by the "New Coastal Road" running through the Gold Coast. Magic Mountain, Nobby Beach opened up in 1962 On 24 August 1975, the first

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant in Queensland opened in Mermaid Beach. St James' Anglican Church was dedicated on 11 November 1977 by Assistant Bishop Ralph Wicks. Its closure on 15 August 1993 was approved by Assistant Bishop

Ron Williams Ronald Allen Williams (born 1949) is an American businessman and board director on corporate, public sector and non-profit boards. He is the former chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Aetna Inc. and is the founder, chairm ...

Demographics

In the , Mermaid Beach had a population of 5,722 people. In the , Mermaid Beach had a population of 6,533 people. In the , Mermaid Beach had a population of 7,329 people.

Education

There are no schools in Mermaid Beach but there are primary schools in neighbouring

and

and a secondary school in Mermaid Waters.

Amenities

The Mermaid Beach branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at QCWA Hall at 43 Ventura Road (). Other community groups include: * Mermaid Beach Surf Life Saving Club * Nobby Beach Surf Life Saving Club

References

External links

* {{Localities in Gold Coast Suburbs of the Gold Coast, Queensland Beaches of Queensland Queensland in World War II