Coolangatta

Coolangatta is a coastal suburb and beach resort at the southern end of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, adjoining Tweed Heads in New South Wales. It is centred on a stretch of sandy coastline including Coolangatta Beach, Greenmount Beach and Rainbow Bay, and is notable for the Snapper Rocks Superbank surf break, Point Danger headland and lookout, and a compact beach-town centre with shops, cafes and accommodation. It is the southern gateway to the Gold Coast.

Visitors can expect a wide sandy beachfront with patrolled swimming areas at Rainbow Bay, Greenmount and Coolangatta Beach, a paved oceanfront promenade and parklands, and the rocky headland of Point Danger with lookout platforms offering views north along the Gold Coast and south to New South Wales. The town centre behind Marine Parade has shops, cafes, restaurants and accommodation. Surfing is prominent at Snapper Rocks and Greenmount, while calmer waters at Rainbow Bay suit swimming and families.

Named after the schooner Coolangatta which was wrecked on the coast in 1846. The township was surveyed in 1883 and developed as a seaside resort and border town after the Queensland-New South Wales border was formalised. Early 20th-century tourism growth, the extension of the railway to Coolangatta (1903-1961) and later the development of Gold Coast Airport shaped its growth as a holiday destination.

Located on the traditional lands of the Yugambeh people. Coolangatta is recognised for its strong surf culture centred on Snapper Rocks and Greenmount, its identity as a twin town with Tweed Heads straddling the state border, and community events such as surf competitions and the Cooly Rocks On nostalgia festival.