![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/03\/8Q2A4182_07539.jpeg\")
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Critics argue the redevelopment debate has become focused on modernising facilities rather than protecting the building’s broader significance to the surfing community and its unique place in Australia’s coastal identity.<\/p>\n
“We want our surf club kept intact,” Down said during a speech.<\/p>\n
“Yes, it needs work but spend the money and get it done right.”<\/p>\n
The protest featured a diverse range of speakers, including ex surfing champions, residents, visitors and artists.<\/p>\n
Sally Paxton, the 1986 Australian longboarding champion, widely regarded as the original queen of Rainbow Bay, called on “people power” to help save the spot.<\/p>\n
“Put your heart into it \u2013 tell all your friends \u2013 people can do it,” she said.<\/p>\n
Paxton acknowledged that repairs to the building are inevitable, but questioned council’s current masterplan, which she believes will significantly impact the surrounding area.<\/p>\n
“It was inevitable that something was going to happen and clearly it needs some repairs, but I think its current footprint should be the footprint that the club is rebuilt upon,” Paxton said.<\/p>\n
“I have seen many surf clubs renovated around this coast, and none of them as far as I know have included a larger footprint than they already have.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “All these new buildings all look the same.”<\/p>\n “They are a clone of each other.”<\/p>\n One young protester urged the next generation of surfers to take a stand.<\/p>\n “Social media is not the battle!” he cried.<\/p>\n “This is the battle \u2013 all of us here together.”<\/p>\n “How are they going to knock the pub down if we’re all in it?”<\/p>\n Support for the campaign has also come from prominent surfers who say the building holds deep cultural and personal significance.<\/p>\n Tweed based professional surfer Morgan Cibilic said the building has always been a constant presence in his life.<\/p>\n “It’s a pretty historic building,” Cibilic said.<\/p>\n “I grew up watching the Quiksilver Pro here and that building’s always been there.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brazilian professional surfers Mateus Herdy and Samuel Pupo also emphasised the club’s international renown, describing how it shaped their experiences from their early teens.<\/p>\n “Since I was thirteen, I’ve been coming here, and seeing all the names of the surfers on the stairs \u2013 it’s just so cool,” Herdy said.<\/p>\n “I grew up watching these amazing surfers at this place here, and I heard that they’re wanting to knock it down, so it’s pretty sad.”<\/p>\n “This building means a lot,” Pupo added.<\/p>\n “I’ve been coming here since I was 10 years old \u2013 surfing every day while my family stayed at the bar watching me.”<\/p>\n “It’s a pretty iconic place and it would be very sad not to see it here.”<\/p>\n Tweed resident and surfer Jesse Bailey said the proposed development reflects what he sees as a worrying southward expansion of urban development along the Gold Coast and into Tweed Heads.<\/p>\n “This over the top development has wrecked a lot of the coastline and I think we should be preserving it,” Bailey said.<\/p>\n “Having these old buildings are part of the character of where we live.”<\/p>\n “It’s a really good addition to the culture of the Gold Coast, and moving into the Tweed as well \u2013 it’s about trying to keep that peaceful energy.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SURFERS and residents rallied on the weekend to save Rainbow Bay Surf Lifesaving Club, opposing plans to demolish the ageing building as part of a broader foreshore redevelopment. The protest at the Snapper Rocks foreshore on March 21 drew crowds of locals, visitors and ocean users from south-east Queensland and across the Northern Rivers who […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/03\/protestors_35670.jpeg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/03\/sally_61034-rotated.jpeg\")