The Gold Coast Transformed: From Wilderness to Urban EcosystemTor Hundloe, Bridgette McDougall, Craig Page The Gold Coast is one of Australia's premier tourism destinations, a city cut out of coastal vegetation, including paperbark swamps, mangroves and rainforests of worldwide significance. The Gold Coast Transformed is a collection of integrated chapters identifying and assessing the environmental impacts of the building of Australia's sixth largest city. From the time of the first timber-getters through to the present, the book traces the cumulative impacts of humans on the now World Heritage-listed rainforest and surrounding ecosystems. The city's natural and engineered environments are both fascinating and vulnerable. The construction of massive high-rise apartment blocks, on what were frontal beach dunes, is one of the fundamental mistakes not to be repeated. The book illustrates how and why major environmentally destructive development took place and discusses the impacts of such development on the Gold Coast's beaches, wildlife, and terrestrial and marine environments, such as the destruction of riparian mangrove forest. The Gold Coast Transformed also shows the possibility of sustaining natural populations and reducing the city's ecological footprint. It will be of interest to ecologists, environmental scientists and managers, town planners, economists, policymakers and the general public. |
Contents
the structure of the book | 1 |
a snapshot | 21 |
Chapter 3 The Gold Coast before Cook named Mount Warning | 35 |
Chapter 4 A brief history of discovery settlement and development | 41 |
Chapter 5 The impact on the Gold Coasts terrestrial environments | 53 |
Chapter 6 The beaches | 75 |
out with the old in with the new | 83 |
Chapter 8 Wildlife of the Gold Coast wetlands | 93 |
Chapter 11 The legacy of David Fleay a pioneering Gold Coast conservationist | 123 |
Chapter 12 The Pink Poodle swimming pavilions and Miami Ice | 131 |
the prospect for green energy | 141 |
meeting the environmental challenge | 145 |
processes challenges and opportunities | 159 |
Chapter 16 State of the environment | 171 |
native plant foods of the Gold Coast | 183 |
Appendices | 193 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
animals attraction Australia beachfront biodiversity birds Bond University Brisbane Broadbeach Broadwater building built Burgin Burleigh Heads canal estates cent Centre Chapter city’s Coast City Council coastal Connolly conservation construction Coolangatta Coomera culture Currumbin Wildlife Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary David Fleay dunes ecological economic ecosystems energy environment environmental impacts farming fauna fish floodplains foredunes foreshore forests freshwater frog gardens GCCC Gold Coast beaches Gold Coast City Gold Coast Seaway Gondwana Gondwana Rainforests green habitat high-rise hinterland holiday Hundloe increase industry koalas land located lorikeets major mangrove marine Moreton Bay native natural Nerang River Numinbah Valley planning plants population growth protected Queensland government rainforests Registered residential residents saltmarsh sand Sea World seagrass significant South Stradbroke Island Southport species Springbrook suburbs surf Surfers Paradise sustainability Tallebudgera theme parks tion tourists town trees turtles urban vegetation visitors waterways wetlands World Heritage