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apollonaut. Built by People Who've Been

An Apollonaut travel guide

The place behind the view.

A renamed seaside town, a record-breaking tower and a deck near its top offer several ways into the story of SkyPoint.

The Q1 tower rising above the Surfers Paradise skyline, seen across the water from the Isle of Capri
On this page

From Elston to Surfers Paradise

The area was first called Elston and was officially renamed Surfers Paradise on 1 December 1933. Its beach is part of a continuous sandy surf coast on the Coral Sea.

Cavill Avenue, named after the hotel owner Jim Cavill, is one of the busiest shopping streets in Queensland and the centre of the area’s nightlife.

The Q1 tower

Q1 was completed in November 2005. With 78 floors and a spire reaching 322.5 metres, it was the world’s tallest all-residential building until 2011.

Its shape draws on the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch and the Sydney Opera House, and its name honours Australia’s 1920s Olympic sculling team.

A deck near the top

The observation deck opened as QDeck in December 2005 and was renamed SkyPoint in December 2010. The SkyPoint Climb opened in January 2012.

This history belongs to the place and the people who shaped it. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.

Read at the source

Sources & further reading

Links lead to the original publishers.

The Apollonaut collection

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Newport, USA · Palaces & landmarks

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The mansion at Nemours Estate beside a clipped boxwood parterre and a gravel walk Bookable

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Wilmington, USA · Palaces & landmarks

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Sydney, Australia · Gardens & outdoors

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The west front of Monticello, with its white columned portico and dome above a wide lawn, under autumn trees Bookable

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Charlottesville, USA · Palaces & landmarks

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The white-columned portico and stone façade of Graceland, with a white lion statue on each side of the front steps Bookable

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The Space Needle beside the towers of downtown Seattle, with Mount Rainier in the distance Bookable

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Seattle, USA · Palaces & landmarks

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Two elephants beside a pool in a leafy enclosure at Australia Zoo Bookable

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Sunshine Coast, Australia · Gardens & outdoors

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Sharks and fish swimming above coral in a large tank at Cairns Aquarium Bookable

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The moss-streaked towers of the castle at Paronella Park, rising above tropical plants Bookable

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Mena Creek, Australia · Gardens & outdoors

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The Lake Michigan shoreline and Lake Shore Drive in the evening, seen from the observation deck Bookable

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Chicago, USA · Palaces & landmarks

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Blue Skyfari gondolas gliding above the wooded canyons and red-roofed buildings of the zoo under a bright blue sky Bookable

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Adelaide, Australia · Gardens & outdoors

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The domed Zoo Center at the Bronx Zoo, with carved elephant heads beside its arched entrance, on a summer day Bookable

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The bluestone gatehouse of Kryal Castle, its name above the arched entrance between two round towers, photographed in 1996 Bookable

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The Big Pheasant, a giant painted pheasant statue rising above native shrubs at Tynong, under a blue sky Bookable

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The Dreamworld globe and sign above the park entrance, with wide curved steps in front under a blue sky Bookable

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