Magazine - Kooralbyn Valley Resort on the Gold Coast Left to Rot

By Editor in Golf on 21st May 2010 12:00

In its heyday it was a five-star resort where families holidayed alongside the wealthy. Now the Kooralbyn Hotel Resort, in the Gold Coast Hinterland, is semi-deserted, patrolled by security guards and surrounded by high fencing warning the public to "keep out" .

Kooralbyn Valley residents claim the buildings are falling apart and the 1500m air strip is now used by locals to walk their pets. They say squatters have been seen making use of the crumbling facilities and that one building, near the tennis courts, was set alight and burnt out.

The golf course is one of the only parts of the sprawling resort that still resembles its former glory. Resident George Andrew said that when the resort folded almost two years ago it took the heart of the community with it. "In the first six months after it shut we could still bring our kids down here to come and play. Now they have shut our access to everything," he said. "All they do is mow. They have left it to rot."

Mr Andrew said the area, home to about 2000 residents, no longer had access to the basic facilities that kept a town going and created a sense of community, such as a local pub. He urged the Scenic Rim Council to step in and either buy the land back or force the current owners to make a decision on the resort's future.

Local MP Aidan McLindon said he understood the community's concerns but several factors had been holding the area back. One was the delay in building a direct road link between Boonah and Kooralbyn which would cut more than 60km off the journey. "If we can get that road through, that 7km would open it up for tourism," he said.

Source & More: www.couriermail.com.au

Read more articles in Golf, by Editor or from May 2010.