Mudgeeraba Holiday Village: a 'blight' on the Gold Coast

'The place looked horrendous'

Gold Coast holiday park 'a living hell'

By Dennis Amor
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IT'S called a holiday village, but for some residents it's a living hell.

Mudgeeraba Holiday Park, just a stone's throw from the Gold Coast's bright lights of Surfers Paradise, has been dubbed Australia's worst caravan park.

About a hundred tenants survive dangerous and squalid conditions which even in some Third World countries would be regarded as a slum. One told of how he has to flush his toilet with buckets of water.

The park, with its collection of old and tarpaulin-shrouded dilapidated caravans, is rife with stabbings, brawls, foul language and drugs ... an area which hardened ambulance personnel will not venture into without a police escort.

Rubbish bins are full to overflowing with empty beer cans and the grimy swimming pool is empty except for rotting vegetation.

Armed police are regular visitors to the park, particularly during the hours of darkness.

A former officer who lives near the park told Caravanning News the park was a disgrace and a blight on the world-renowned holiday strip.

"Being ex police stationed on the Gold Coast for quite a number of years, I know exactly what the Mudgeeraba Caravan Park is like," she said.

"It was bad enough then.

"I think it is criminal to think that free or low-cost camping is closed down at showgrounds under the pretence that their amenities are not up to scratch when you have parks like this around."

Holidaymakers and tourists are non-existent at the 70-site park where people fork out up to $200 a week to live in ramshackle caravans and old buses.

Caravanner Frank Sullivan, who travels Australia with his pet dog Jesse, said he was told the park accepted animals, but when he saw the conditions he did an immediate about turn.

"There was no way I was going to stay there," he said. "The place looked horrendous and some of the characters appeared very suss," he added.

But some residents praised park owner Bob Purcell, saying he was trying to do a good job.

"We'd be on the street if it wasn't for him," one said. "We struggle to survive because society generally turns a blind eye to our plight."

Mr Purcell, who reportedly has other properties worth over a million dollars, told media: "If you have cheap rent you're going to get some sort of problem with those sort of people."

Local councillor Glenn Tozer ‒ chairman of the Mudgeeraba Caravan Village Working Group ‒ claimed legislation prevented Gold Coast City Council from taking action.

He said media coverage had been "pretty sensationalised" in what was a tragic situation for many real people living in or near the park.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman in Mayor Tom Tate's office told Caravanning News the problem was "on the Mayor's radar".

"He is very concerned about the situation," she said. "The park is privately owned and ultimately it is their responsibility to do something about it."

She said the Mayor had been in touch with Cr Tozer and MP Ross Bates about the situation.