The Old Sea Wall Beach Park of Southport - Gold Coast, Queensland

The Old Sea Wall

At the southern edge of the Southport Broadwater Parkland, before a bridge crosses over to The Spit, is a beach strip that's least visited by the regular revelers, the Old Sea Wall Beach Park which is punctuated by few pine trees and deserted pathways.

In these narrow foreshores, you could probably spend the day on a spot without another soul, except for the gulls and cranes that intermittently dive into the waters. All I could think was the stark visibility these waters. With no degree of turbidity, I wondered how these waters are kept pristine. If these were anywhere in the vicinity of Manila, there'd be slum dwellers feasting on their imagined rights to put up shanties where they shouldn't be. A rich nation has such enviable mechanics of governance, but with a population of barely 28,000 in Southport, the central business district of the Gold Coast, I reckon it's easier to handle than one with a population of say, a million.

As shown on this page, there's a wooden view deck with odd-looking white cabanas where bikers could be seen. I'd have thought that wooden plankways would be exclusive for pedestrian use, but then... maybe they're made for bikers too. This, after all, isn't home.

You could also feed the fish in the water, and there are considerable schools of fish I saw. The bridge connecting the parklands to The Spit is nearby, and so are the beautiful murals on the walls.

Westward, bordering the highway that leads to the bridge, is a small strip of land with a little garden filled with flowers, duly designated as Dr. Eugene Levi Park. We're pointing this out to underline the Ausies' predilection to assign or name parks from minuscule strips of lands so every small corner could be a park.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Japanese-style lawn

Caryl Battersby waxes poetic:

"Ladies fair, I bring to you
Lavender with spikes of blue;
Sweeter plant was never found..."

This small strip of land with a colorful garden is situated beside the highway. This constitutes Dr. Eugene Levi Park.

The Girl by the Hill - Southport, Gold Coast

She represents the spectator, the traveler if you will, who sits at the corner watching the world go by. That's what came to mind when I saw her and her little bear at the top of The Hill, right in the heart of the Southport Broadwater Parkland. From her "exclusive" spot under the bristling sun, you could see the Broadwater, ANZAC Park and The Spit. The Pacific Ocean hums with its subtle and understated fury just across the eastern strip.

As for me, I could sit there all day, but the Earth moves and transforms, and evolves even without me. So I chose to move on.

While there, a poem came to mind.

YESTERDAY GIRL 
by Richard Hill

I remember her face (I think)
And a summer evening
Standing on the shore
Watching the Mersey
Turning in its sleep
And the seagulls crying
Sliding down the sky
Like kids on banisters
While we wrote 
I love you
In the sweaty summer sand
With sticks
And skipped across rocks
And both held hands
To keep falling 
Out of love.

But we couldn't.


With these somber thoughts, I leave you, and this girl to her musings.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The spectator.

The little bear seems to be prodding her to move on.

Pensively staring at the distance.

ANZAC Park

The Spit

From afar you'd think she was real.