Golden Beach, Victoria Explained

Type:town
Golden Beach
State:vic
Use Lga Map:yes
Coordinates:-38.1375°N 147.4494°W
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Shire of Wellington
Lga:Shire of Wellington
Postcode:3851
Pop:293
Stategov:Gippsland South
Fedgov:Gippsland
Dist1:248
Dir1:SE
Location1:Melbourne
Dist2:40
Dir2:SE
Location2:Sale
Dist3:85
Dir3:NE
Location3:Yarram

Golden Beach is a small settlement situated on the Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland Victoria. The beaches there offer long distances for walking and fishing, but are not patrolled. It has kangaroos on the golf course, a playground near the shops and a lookout deck near the ocean beach. There are many nearby wildlife reserves which are sanctuaries for water birds and other species. Seaspray and Loch Sport are nearby settlements which are slightly more developed with eating places and a caravan park.

Pastoralist William Letts purchased the land from the state government and it become known as Letts' beach. In the late 1940s, a developer changed the name from Letts' Beach to the more appealing Paradise Beach and Golden Beach. In the early 1950s the area was promoted as the "Surfers Paradise of Victoria".[1] In 2011 there were 330 persons within the twin towns of Golden Beach and Paradise Beach.[2]

In 2020 Wellington Shire Council decided to compulsorily acquire the last 750 undeveloped lots along a "Surfers Paradise of Victoria". Between 1955 and 1969, developers lured thousands of mostly migrants from Melbourne to buy the blocks between Paradise Beach and The Honeysuckles. The subdivision of 11,800 small blocks, should never have been sold off in the first place because most of the land is in flood-prone areas.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A slice of Paradise: Life at one of Victoria's least-known beaches. 12 January 2018.
  2. Web site: 2011 Census QuickStats: Golden Beach - Paradise Beach (L).
  3. Web site: Decades-old dispute over 'undevelopable' Ninety Mile Beach blocks ends with compulsory sales. 19 August 2020.