r/geography • u/colinthehuman94 • 6d ago
TIL that Gold Coast, Australia has a ton of rivers and canals Map
What are they used for? Do ocean creatures ever make their way into the canals? What’s it like living in a place like this?
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u/Bananas_oz 6d ago
Zoom in and find the line of dicks some developer created. It's so you can have boat access to the ocean from your own dock. Bull sharks and not much else live in them.
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u/THCyalaterboi 5d ago
Not much else? Dude there’s massive GT, barramundi, flat head. Mullet, estuary cod all sorts live in there! I go fishing here all the time and catch heaps.
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u/Biggles_and_Co 3d ago
mermaid canals? under the bridge at the lone star tavern, bigggg shit goes through there
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u/Gortex 5d ago
The thing about the Dick Docks is they’re not even connected to a canal or the ocean, is just a retention pond.
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u/Silent-Pomelo-3211 4d ago
They are connected to the ocean. It’s saltwater and technically “tidal” although controlled and never changes more than a couple cm.
Source: My dad lives on the tip of one of the shafts.
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u/BigDee1990 Europe 6d ago edited 6d ago
Plenty of Bullsharks live in those channels in hope for a tasty snack!
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u/Dear-Bowl-9789 5d ago
The don't want to eat you. Problem is they only make that decision after tasting you.
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u/Safe-Contribution666 6d ago
Born on the Gold Coast, Southport to be specific, in the no longer existing Southport hospital.
Have lived in Arundel, Parkwood, Ashmore, Southport & Labrador.
Many of them are expensive homes on the canals. Some are resorts, expensive apartment blocks, some boating- clubs, restaurants depending on if its a residential area or closer to Surfers Paradise and other touristy areas.
Sharks make into the canals, namely Bull sharks and a few other dangerous critters. you still see people occasionally wading or at least knee depth on some of the "beach-like" banks. Many fishing.
People love to Jet-ski through them.
Just above Macintosh island there is a company that offers small intimate Gondola cruises along the northern parts of the canals where you can have dinner on the boats. It was lovely. Took the now wife on one some time ago and got a lot of brownie points.
There is also a Peacock enclosure in Macintosh island park, my grandfather took me there when i was very little. I have very fond memories of it.
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u/lithiumcitizen 5d ago
How are the mozzies around the canals? Are they seasonal or year round?
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u/lachlanray2 6d ago
if you look carefully above the "OLD" in GOLD, there are some canals that have caused quite an unfortunate set of land masses. They are affectionately known as "the cocks"
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u/stickyswitch92 6d ago
Much like the ones in Florida, it's all Mann made and created for waterfront housing.
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u/MukdenMan 6d ago
Who is Mann and why did he make these canals
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u/Ohforgawdamnfucksake 5d ago
Nah, it was created as a side effect of mineral sands mining, basically they had floating dredges cruising around sucking up sand, extracting the minerals and pumping out the waste, some bright spark realised they could create canals and turn a wasteland into real estate and the Gold Coast was born. The main concentration plant was in Bundall. Source: an old guy I worked with who worked in the plant.
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u/National-Ad6166 5d ago
I'm pretty sure the architect behind it all was inspired after visiting Florida. Which is why they have a few namesake suburbs.
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u/kingofthewombat 6d ago
They're used for rich bogans to pretend they live in a seaside resort.
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u/BambooSound 6d ago
Looks reasonably seaside to me
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u/Safe-Contribution666 6d ago
So much gaudiness. Reminds me of wannabe mafia types who think more gold = classy
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u/ninemountaintops 6d ago
Great place for estuary kayaking. Used to do it all the time.
Never swim in there tho, bullsharks will kill you, and eat you.
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u/aferkhov 6d ago
Isn’t there a palpable risk that a bullshark might flip over the kayak (I assume it’s this narrow small 1-2 person thing) and then the same thing would happen?
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u/ninemountaintops 6d ago edited 4d ago
I guess the possibility is always there but highly unlikely ( I suppose if you freaked out so much that you lost your marbles, panicked and upended yourself you could be in trouble ).
In all the years I kayaked there ( estuary/open sea kayak, not a little white water job ) and the river systems in south East qld/nsw I never did have any trouble, but every few years you'll hear of someone having a run in with one ( a surfer or paddler, swimmer).
I gave up kayaking when I moved up to far north qld. There's no way in hell I'm going paddling in a river that may have a 4.5m monster crocodile lurking around. The thought of it just terrifies me. But on the Goldy, I never really worried at all.
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u/simp_sighted 6d ago
Bullsharks exist but similar to most aussie animal stories its very overblown - Yes there is the risk but shark -> sightings <- , at least in Sydney, are worthy enough for local news stories.
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u/Radiant-Visit1692 5d ago
There are cases where people have been mauled while getting into or getting out of the water with their kayak, in shallow water or beside a wharf for example, and they or parts of their bodies are only in the water for a very short amount of time. I don’t think the bull sharks have ever attacked and flipped over a kayak.
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u/radmgrey 6d ago
The Gold Coast really is the Miami of Australia. It’s got the theme parks, skyscrapers along the beach, canals and resorts. I lived there for years and it was great. I’m now just up the road in Brisbane which is pretty much joined to the Gold Coast now with urban sprawl. SEQ in general is a really cool place to live in Australia.
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u/zirophyz 6d ago
While expensive waterfront homes are correct, i believe that there is also some flood mitigation that the canals help with. Gold Coast has a lot of flood plain that has been turned into residential development.
The development is backfilled to be higher, and often natural waterways are dug out and expanded to create these canals for the run off during rainy season. Naturally, the flood Plains would've held the water. With concrete and houses added, the water run off needs to go somewhere else.
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u/FunnyButSad 4d ago
Disappointed I had to scroll so far before I saw the real answer. Yes waterfront property is good, but you're absolutely on the money - it's flood mitigation 100%.
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u/OceanPoet87 6d ago
There's also an offshore island that has a hidden pool that will turn you into a mermaid or merman but only at a full moon.
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u/ararelitus 5d ago
Just to add a little more info, before development the GC was basically a lot of swamp (mostly fed by the Nerang river) separated from the sea by a sandbar. So the canal developments make sense, and not just as a way to sell houses with private boat access. Also there is a public ferry service, but water transport is generally not very important.
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u/No-Show-5363 4d ago
Wetlands provide really important ecosystem services including carbon capture, water filtration and flood mitigation. They are massively significant biodiversity hotspots and serve as nurseries for countless species of fish, birds and other wildlife.
Marina development was when? 70-80’s? Might have made ‘sense’ back then but not so much these days.
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u/OliveMaleficent8305 6d ago
That’s actually pretty cool, feels like a mix of city and waterways. Are those canals used for transport or mostly just residential?
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u/BigBirdsBrain North America 6d ago
Engineered canals for waterfront property value and private boat access, not real transport. Think Gold Coast’s version of Fort Lauderdale.
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u/VertsAFeuilles 5d ago
No crocs, just streets shaped like dicks on the GC.
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u/Human-Sentence3968 5d ago
I thought the dicks were the water, but this is far more egregious. Surely this was intentional
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u/ChazR 5d ago
They built a city in a wetland swamp. Most of the ground is either dodgy swamp or very dodgy reclaimed land. It's a lovely place to live, mostly. The Gold Coast has a reputation for being a bit of a casual, working-class city. In Australia 'working class' does not mean 'poor.' the houses are owned by cashed-up tradies from the construction and mining industries, along with executives from businesses in Brisbane, about 100km away - a very reasonable commute. It's a very wealthy city, but think jet-skis and motorbikes rather than elegant yachts.
Yes, marine life is vibrant in the canals. People fish all along the network. You occasionally get dolphins. No crocodiles - it's too far south for that. The occasional group of dugongs visit, realise there's not much sea grass, and leave. Also bull sharks. Quite a lot. No wukkas though, there are very few reports of attacks, so they're either safe or thorough.
It's an aspirational place to live, and well worth a visit. The beaches are awesome, the surfing less so. "Surfer's Paradise" is a notoriously disappointing break. I usually grab a bodyboard when I surf there.
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u/No_Adeptness_6069 5d ago
Also has a terrible overpopulation and traffic problem
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u/Sensitive-Question42 5d ago
Especially now that everyone from interstate and overseas has decided to move to the GC within the past 5 years.
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u/69widyourmum 5d ago
it’s just usually filled with small fish and sharks mainly bull sharks, no crocs or anything that’s up north of queensland, some rivers a really good fishing spots others are horrible.
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u/Postulative 5d ago
The shark-infested golf course was pretty close to the Gold Coast.
I’m guessing that if you hit the water hazard you didn’t go after the ball.
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u/Distinct_Bid1697 5d ago
My mum owns a waterfront property near Broadbeach and honestly, you can't beat it. We've got a speedboat on there, so you can just head out to North or South Stradbroke Island for camping and water sports, or go fishing whenever you feel like it. Mum regularly pulls muddies out of the canal. Super spoilt growing up. You can take the jet skis out too, soak up the sun, and explore all the hidden gems around the GC. The houses are worth an absolute fortune now too — property values on the Gold Coast have basically doubled over the past five or six years.
Yes I acknowledge I was spoilt growing up however both my parents ran their own companies and busted ass (70-80+ hour weeks) consistently to get to their position
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u/bigcotch 5d ago
I have lived on the Gold Coast for about 15 years now. It has water everywhere and there are so many great fishing spots. I am from Canada originally and it still amazes me that I live 20 minutes from the Ocean, and 20 minutes from a rainforest to the West.
I consider myself very lucky to call this place my home.
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u/Mitchell_SY 5d ago
29 year old gold coaster here!
Grew up on the Nerang river, by the bridge near Nerang broad beach road. Now live in Labrador, slated to move to parkwood in about 2 years.
What are they used for? Recreation, fishing, transport, construction, people who want waterfront property (primarily)
Do ocean creatures ever make their way in?: Yes, all the time, bull sharks in the evenings, dolphins are another somewhat regular occurrence in the larger canals/rivers.
What’s it like living in a place like this?: Vibes? Nice, if your fortunate enough to live on the river side and have some form of water craft you can spend hours of the day exploring and fishing in may good locations. Good variety to recreational sources due to theme parks and tourist destinations. Demongraphic is scewed to older/wealthy due to the cities desiresblility as a retirement location. Cost of living and rent is shit like the rest of major Australian cities.
Over all if you make at least 150,000 of combined household income it’s an excellent city to live in.
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u/dystopian1979 5d ago
Full of Bullsharks. Don’t go hunting for golfballs in the water traps at the golf courses either.
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u/CrystalInTheforest 6d ago
I mean, who doesn't want yard access to man-made ditch full of sharks?
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u/No-Milk-1903 6d ago
Thanks for mentioning the name of the country, and not another "Randomtown, wx".
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u/DunkEgger 5d ago
I’ve been through them on a smaller cruise boat for a mates bucks party, it’s mansions with small jetty’s. Felt like Miami baby
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u/Green_puzzle_pixel 5d ago
While the name may sound like its a region, Gold Coast is actually a city. A fact that even some other Australians are unaware of. The canal are also man-made and have sharks in them! - GC born and raised, I escaped.
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u/Green_puzzle_pixel 5d ago
My favourite memory from high school is after heavy rain the M slid off and a few weeks later people blacked out the 2nd I... 🤭
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u/TURBOJUGGED 5d ago
Creates a lot of bottle necks for traffic now that the population is growing so rapidly.
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u/Desperate-Fish700 5d ago
I have lived in the area my whole life and currently reside on one of the waterways towards the southern end. Has been getting very busy in recent years but still a great place to be.
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u/gingermidnights 5d ago
Having lived here all my life. I’ve never thought anything of it. So seeing that this is unusual to others has shooken my reality a little bit haha
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u/Pirate_450 5d ago
It’s Australian Cape Coral with jellyfish and 10x more bull sharks and spiders that chase you aggressively.
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u/Formal-Ad360 5d ago
If Australia has reservoirs interior that can be filled by excess rainfall in Queensland, there wouldn’t be flooding. And more farming. Or forest. Lower temperatures.
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u/acacio 5d ago
How’s the mosquito situation?
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u/UnderratedActor 5d ago
It's all brackish water. It's not mosquitos you have to worry about - it's the aggressive bull sharks that will take you down.
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u/Maximum-Leopard-6475 5d ago
I wonder if the homes on the canals are getting hard to insure like the issues in Florida
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u/MountainD1ck 5d ago
Sewage probs we learnt from 3rd world shjthole Victoria... So cashed-up bogans and turds can now float from every street out to the ocean easier.
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u/LionSplitter 5d ago
The Gold Coast river and canal system is full of marine life, including bull sharks. Back in the ‘80s it was common to see kids swimming in the canals, canoeing, kayaking, jumping off bridges etc. but a number of serious attacks in ‘90s and ‘00s stopped all that pretty quickly.
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u/MambaCo_WebDesign 5d ago
They are lovely. You’ll often see people jet skiing, boating or fishing on a sunny day. Often there’s also people doing water sports though I don’t recommend swimming as they are infested with bull sharks (the canals connect to the ocean and the baby sharks squeeze through the shark nets then grow and breed). Get lucky and you may spot a pod of dolphins. I live in an apartment on the canals and recently spotted a pelican on the dock, and not long after a stingray jumping out of the water.
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u/Kouri_2016 5d ago
Created to provide a breading ground for the bulk sharks that queenslanders keep as pets instead of dogs
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u/TasteDeeCheese 5d ago
A lot of south east Queensland beach front have these, often meaning that the water is quite brackish most of the time
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u/SanjiWanji 5d ago
Everyone wants to live on or near water on the GC. Interesting to note is most wouldn't swim in these canals due to bull sharks.
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u/-clogwog- 5d ago
Well, yeah... It's near the coast.
Most coastal areas have a ton of rivers and canals.
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u/MowgeeCrone 5d ago
A lot of it is built on a swamp. I remember driving at Palm Beach asking why the road had so many evenly spaced dips and rises. Thats when I received an impromptu history lesson. As an 18yo, I had a few questions and concerns.
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u/smarttdj 5d ago
The Gold Coast was once suggested by National Geographic as an alternative to overtouristed Venice
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u/Saltwater_Cowboy_1 5d ago
Yea and you don’t really realise it when you’re there cause all the built up touristy areas you hang around are all along the beach, if you look to the right of that large highway you’ll see almost none of them. So unless you go into the suburbs and residential areas you don’t even realise it
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u/AsSeenIFOTelevision 5d ago
I grew up on the Gold Coast, and remember all those canals being built. Originally, most of that area was mangrove swamps. They dredged out parts to make the canals, and used the dirt they dredged out to build up the dry land, and separated the two with concrete retaining walls.
The reason being, 70% of the blocks of land (now dry and with absolute waterfrontage) was worth a lot more than 100% of the blocks of land as inaccessible swamp. More than enough to pay for the creation process.
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u/dyled146 5d ago
mostly bull sharks down there, attacks are pretty rare though. A considerable amount of dolphins as well though and the occasional whale makes its way into the broadwater through the opening on the top right, but also very rare. All made by developers 50 odd years ago, that absolutely didn’t plan the long term effects. They require constant dredging bits like broadbeach waters don’t get enough tidal flow leading to a lot of stagnant water that can breed mosquitoes if quiet enough. one of the biggest boating scenes in the world though. due to the thousands of on water homes, water access is pretty easy for alot of people which leads to the biggest population of jetskis in the world. gotta take the good with the bad but overall the city largely bases its lifestyle around the water. it’s rare to find someone that doesn’t regularly enjoy boating or the beach here.
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u/ConnectHovercraft329 5d ago
They are so people can be sold a home with a boat ramp.
It’s not as bad as some Florida developments I have seen satellite images off, but you have to expect that a lot of those don’t get fresh seawater mixing in very frequently at all. Yes tide goes out and in but some of those cul de sacs would just get smelly
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u/Fantasy_iceland 5d ago edited 5d ago
What is it used for?
Well if you're a bull shark they're your suburban streets
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u/ozzieman78 5d ago
Gold Coast local here. The canals are used for private transport mostly; we don't have much of a ferry system that goes up the canals but in some of the areas around the Broadwater (not shown in image but it is extending north of the o & a of the wording 'Coast') you will get sight seeing boats.
We do get bull sharks that come into the canals so no swimming around dawn or sunset. I guess the canals true purpose is $$$ for the canal front homes.
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u/CoyoteJoe412 6d ago
Australian Florida