Today’s Gold Coast is a far cry from the original humble beginnings when in 1925 Jim Cavell who had purchased 25 acres some five years earlier, opened his first hotel at the intersection of the South Coast Road and an old coach track which ran from Meyers Ferry Wharf to the Surfers Paradise beach.
The hotel had 16 bedrooms and the town of Elston as it was known then, was soon to expand its facilities to include a post office, refreshment rooms, and facilities for campers and holiday makers.Accommodation Gold Coast
In 1925 the area also celebrated the opening of the mighty new Jubilee Bridge which spanned the Nerang River at Southport. This of course allowed motor cars to cross with ease and opened the area up to further development and it wasn’t long before land was offered for sale in areas with fashionable names like Mermaid Beach and Miami Waters.