Demographics

In the , Coolangatta had a population of 5,948 people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.2% of the population. The median age of people in Coolangatta was 50 years. 67.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.3% and England 4.0%. 80.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Portuguese at 1.7%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 32.3%, Catholic 21.9% and Anglican 15.4%.

In the , Coolangatta had a population of 6,491 people.

Education

Coolangatta State School is a government primary (Prep to Year 6) school for boys and girls at Stapylton Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 184 students with 19 teachers (14 full-time equivalent) and 11 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).

There are no secondary schools in Coolangatta. The nearest government secondary school is Palm Beach Currumbin State High School in Palm Beach to the north-west.

Facilities

thumb|Rainbow Bay seen from Greenmount Hill, Coolangatta

Coolangatta Magistrates Court is at 136 Musgrave Street ().

Coolangatta Police Station is on the corner of Musgrave and Mclean Streets ().

Amenities

The Gold Coast City Council operate a public library () on Level 1 of the Strand Shopping Centre (between Marine Parade and Griffith Street, ).

Coolangatta Post Office is at ().

St Augustine's Catholic Church is on the corner of Mclean and Tweed Streets ().

Twin Towns Coolangatta Uniting Church is at 26–28 Lanham Street (corner of McLean Street, ).

Coolangatta Bowls Club is on the corner of Scott and Warner Streets ().

Coolangatta Croquet Club is at 42 Lanham Street ().

The Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club is at Soorley Street in Tweed Heads South.

Events

Coolangatta hosts a number of sporting events: The Coolangatta Gold (surf life saving), Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (surfing), Roxy Pro Gold Coast (surfing), and Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series (beach cricket).

Each June, Coolangatta hosts the Cooly Rocks On Festival, a two-week 1950s and 1960s nostalgia festival with free entertainment and attractions, including hot rods, restored cars and revival bands playing music of the era.

Billy cart races have been organised on Boundary Street in Coolangatta, with the most recent occurrences of these organised in association with the Cooly Rocks On Festival.

Attractions

thumb|Rainbow Bay Beach with Goldcoast skyline

The beaches are major attractions of Coolangatta. Popular lookouts and viewpoints include:

  • Kirra Hill
  • Greenmount Hill
  • Snapper Rocks ( ), named after HM Colonial Cutter Snapper which passed by Point Danger in July 1822 under the command of W.L. Edwardson
  • Point Danger Lighthouse
  • Kirra Beach Pavilion on Marine Parade ()
  • Francis Edward Roberts Commemorative Plaque, Boundary Street (median strip)
  • Powell Brothers Commemorative Trees, Garrick Street (median strip to north of Musgrave Street)
  • former Coolangatta State & Special School, 1 Garrick Street
  • Coolangatta War Memorial, Lanham Street (Godwin Park)
  • Kirra Beach Pavilion, Marine Parade (Kirra Beach)
  • Kirra Shelter Shed, Marine Parade (Kirra Beach road reserve)
  • ANZAC Memorial, Marine Parade (Queen Elizabeth Park)
  • Wreck of the Coolangatta Fragment, Marine Parade (Queen Elizabeth Park)
  • Norfolk Pines Coolangatta Foreshore, Marine Parade (Queen Elizabeth Park and Pat Fagan Park)
  • United States Navy Coolangatta Leave Area Greenmount Hill Camp No. 4 Picnic Shelter, Marine Parade (Pat Fagan Park, Greenmount Hill)
  • Tweed Heads and Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club (formerly Greenmount Surf Life Saving Club), Marine Parade ()
  • former Jazzland Dance Hall, 31–33 Mclean Street ()
  • St Augustine's Church, 58 McLean Street
  • Site of the Wreck of the Coolangatta, Mouth of Coolangatta Creek, North Kirra Beach
  • Remains of Jack Evans Porpoise Pool, Snapper Rocks ()

Coolangatta is featured in the song It's Hot in Brisbane but it's Coolangatta, recorded in 1953 by Gwen Ryan, Claude Carnell's Orchestra and additional vocals from Doug Roughton's Hokey Pokey Club. Funded by 39 businesses, it is believed to be the first jingle written to promote an Australian tourist destination. In 2008 the song was used as the theme for a Gold Coast Heritage exhibition about the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s on the Gold Coast, featuring oral histories and objects of Gold Coast residents.

The sport-romance film The Coolangatta Gold was set in the town.

Coolangatta was also used as the fictitious town of Porpoise Spit in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding.

References

Sources

  • University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Coolangatta
  • National Film and Sound Archive: "It's Hot in Brisbane but it's Coolangatta": (embedded audio 2 mins 37 secs)
  • Coolangatta: that's the place for me – music score, digitised and held by the State Library of Queensland
  • Heritage Tour — Coolangatta