City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Unexploded mine on the beach at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, March 1966

Unexploded mine on the beach at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, March 1966

An unexploded German mine from World War Two washed up on the beach in front of the Sands apartment building, on 15th March 1966. It remained there for three days before a decision was made to remove it to the Spit for detonation. Residents were evacuated and the streets cleared while the mine was towed by tractor along the beach to the Spit, where it was detonated by Navy personnel using remote control. (Information source: Alexander McRobbie, The fabulous Gold Coast, c1984, p. 187).