By Mitch Gaynor
WAVING, not drowning. That’s the hope, anyway, as talk of a hinterland surf park resurfaces.
We’ve been here before, treading water.
In recent years, GC&M News has reported extensively on the rise and fall of two wave park proposals that together say a lot about where the hinterland is heading.
First came Sanad’s much-hyped and ultimately doomed $350 million Glenview play.
Then Surf Parks Australia followed with a smaller, more targeted proposal on Johnston Road at Glass House Mountains.
Both projects received council approval, much to Sanad’s frustration, and that led to court action.
The case failed, but it drew the curtain on how the region is being reshaped in real time. Out are smaller, historical farms, even when they sit on rural-zoned land.
In are tourism-driven developments like the Glass House Mountains surf park. In court, council argued the surf park was a strategic play that would expand the Sunshine Coast’s limited tourism offering and help it compete with the Gold Coast.
On the agricultural side, the case pointed to the steady decline of pineapple farming since its mid-century peak and a broader shift toward larger-scale fresh fruit operations.
In short, council was comfortable giving a pineapple farm the boot for a tourism asset with better access and, presumably, better returns.
At least the nod to the past remains in name. The project, now dubbed Surf Farm, appears to be moving forward after linking up with European developer Wavegarden Cove.
The goal is to start construction and have waves rolling by 2028.
Local leaders are all in. As local member and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said this week, the project is a major investment that positions the Glass House region as a place visitors choose to stay, play and explore. It would help if council joined the enthusiasm.
It has knocked back two recent tourism proposals, including the Beerwah Pines, which young surfers might have actually used, and higher-end accommodation at Maleny Manor that their parents probably would have.
As it happens, Beerwah Pines is now appealing and Maleny Manor has been called in by the state. Go figure.
If Surf Farm goes ahead it will not just be another drawcard but another marker in the rapid transformation of the hinterland.
Pineapple farms are being repurposed, strawberry fields are making way for industrial sites.
Over-50s developments are popping up with increasing regularity.
Meanwhile, the B2N project is carving through the region. Beerburrum in particular looks like an open wound where mature trees once stood.
The Wave project, despite being planned for years, will likely level the Beerwah Co-op. These are some big sets rolling toward the hinterland.
The question is not whether they’re coming. It’s who gets to ride them, and who gets dumped.
