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Figures

Figure 1.
Images of the Australian bronzed beach hero often include a surplus of women to men. These types of representations have little connection to the physical situation on the beach. The representation of beach hero is repeated in the inset of fig.3 while the suggestion that Surfers is occupied by more women than men is perpetuated in figure 5 (Fun in the Sun W166A, Murray Views, Gympie).

Figure 2.
Surfers' architecture is equated with the "naturalness" of the beach and provides a rationale for wanting to gaze upon Surfers Paradise (McArthur, J. GC15, Surfers Paradise - Aerial View, The Collectors World, Gold Coast).

Figure 3.
Anonymous consumers enjoy an equally anonymous beach which is only recognisable as Surfers Paradise by the added label (Gold Coast Australia GC133, Sydney G. Hughes, Brisbane).

Figure 4. The Meter Maids, the bikini and Surfers Paradise are all repeatedly linked in a single dense representation (Surfers Paradise: The Famous Meter Maids W17B, Murray Views, Gympie).

Figure 5.
The bikini and its briefer derivatives convey a message to the "ordinary" heterosexual male of the wearer's overt sexual availability while alluding to more seductive possibilities. This "reading" occurs regardless of the wearer's intention for using this apparel (Fun in the Sun - at Surfers Paradise C1021, Bartel Photography, Sydney).

Figure 6.
The section of road in the photograph beyond the overpass is actually part of the Paradise Centre's property title and considered to be private property by the Gold Coast City Council (Along the Esplanade at Surfers Paradise GC112, Sydney G. Hughes, Brisbane).

Figure 7.
The "mundane" Cavill Mall. The disproportionate number of women in the photographic representations of Surfers Paradise is maintained off the beach (Cavill Mall and The Esplanade GC131, Sydney G. Hughes, Brisbane).

Figure 8.
The equally pedestrian Queen Street Mall in Brisbane. Although architectural styles may offer some relief to the barrage of consumption opportunities, the creation of these public spaces has little relevance to civic amenity (Queen Street Mall B199, Sydney G. Hughes, Brisbane).

Figure 9.
The unknown Civic Centre-City Hall is legitimated, in this photograph, by its proximity to the beachfront high-rise (Aerial View of Evandale Civic Centre C1044, Bartel Photography, Sydney).

Figure 10.
Brisbane's relationship to Surfers Paradise as the mundane to the spectacular is an ideational construction. This photograph of the Southbank lagoon is interchangeable with figure 3 (Looking towards Brisbane City high-rise BG37, Sydney G. Hughes, Brisbane).

Figure 11.
Despite the distant location of this attraction from Surfers Paradise, in northern New South Wales, these brochures are widely available on the Gold Coast. The similar art work but altered text suggests that operators of tourist attractions perceive the Japanese as touristic dupes who must be nursed through each encounter with Otherness. The slight differences between the two brochures are, however, interesting. The English version has the two definitely white children and an oversized avocado whereas the Japanese version portrays a more egalitarian role for the avocado in the anthromorphic world. On the reverse of these brochures (not shown), the directional maps also differ. The Japanese version only marks the location of Surfers Paradise, the airport and Coolangatta and also redirects National Highway 1 onto a more aesthetic route. The English version includes Kingscliff and Murwillumbah, extra roads and a directional pointer to Brisbane.

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