Bundall, a Gold Coast suburb consisting mostly of canal estates, is immediately west of Surfers Paradise and the Nerang waterways.
Late in 1864 sugar cane was first grown on the Nerang River and by 1866 the Bundall plantation had nearly 40 ha of cane under cultivation. It is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal word describing the cunjevoi plant.
Much of the area around the plantation was wetland. As sugar growing was transferred to the tropical northern coasts it was replaced by dairying until the 1950s. The growth of the Gold Coast community enabled the local turf club to acquire land in Bundall for a racecourse. The Gold Coast Turf Club conducts weekly meetings. Racing was shut down fro several months in 2007 following an outbreak of equine influenza. Future development discussions have weighed up moving the turf club to Palm Meadows or redeveloping the Bundall facility.
The successful completion of Chevron Island and Nerang canal estates in the 1960s led to a small development named Bundall Waters (Rapallo Avenue) on the north side of the Nerang River. Survey work was carried out west of Bundall Road, and by the mid-1970s substantial earthworks were completed for the Sorrento canal estates, south Bundall. Later defined as a genteel enclave, as houses in Sorrento approached the 30 year mark, some were ready for refurbishment.
Some of the area around the racecourse is used for medical and commercial purposes, and houses on the north side adjoin or are close to a water frontage. The commercial areas include shopping, in particular bulky goods warehouses and homewares along Ashmore Road. Immediately east of Bundall Road there are the Gold Coast Council offices, arts centre and gallery.
Education is found outside Bundall, at Surfers Paradise primary, Isle of Capri, and in Benowa. This involves travel for a substantial part of Bundall's population. Most families live in detached houses, which comprised nearly 82% of Bundall's total house stock at the 2011 census.
Designs for a new arts and cultural precinct were released in 2015.
Bundall's census populations have been:
Census Date | Population |
---|---|
1954 | 102 |
1981 | 2860 |
1991 | 3687 |
2001 | 3971 |
2006 | 4102 |
2011 | 4188 |