Coolangatta is the southernmost of the Gold Coast's Queensland suburbs. It's separated from Tweed Heads in New South Wales simply by a line on a map as the State border passes down the middle of the street. Oddly, daylight saving time is observed in NSW but not in Queensland and this is exploited each New Year when revellers are able to celebrate the arrival of the new year twice by crossing to different sides of the main street!
The simple border marker on Old Highway One marks the transition from NSW to the "Sunshine State".

Griffith St is the start of the Old Highway One alignment through downtown Coolangatta (2003 photo). Note the border marker at the top of the photo where the roundabout marks the right turn south into NSW.

The Griffith St Old Highway One alignment was bypassed by a southern extension to the Gold Coast Highway before that was itself later bypassed by the M1 Pacific Motorway, the current Highway One alignment. This crazy sign was replaced in 2012 but had the rare distinction of incorrectly showing both the bypassed Old Highway One alignments, through Coolangatta and the Gold Coast Highway, as still carrying the NR1 shield.

Just around the corner from downtown Coolangatta, Old Highway One passes right alongside beautiful Kirra Beach.

Broadbeach is one of the string of magnificent surf beaches strung along Old Highway One (now mostly called Gold Coast Highway) through the Gold Coast. The Big Golf Ball graces the Putt Putt on the west side of the highway at Broadbeach.

The Big Guitar stands tall above the Hard Rock Café in Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise. "Surfers" is a world famous tourist venue which is always busy.

Sea World in Southport is an icon of Highway One and the Gold Coast. It was the first of several "Worlds" on the Gold Coast, opening in 1958.

In Oxenford, enjoy the drive past more "Worlds" and other tourist attractions than you can shake a day pass at!

Pimpama (pop. 1,053) and Ormeau (pop. 6,146) are small settlements established in the 1860s between the Gold Coast and Logan City urban developments and were bypassed by the highway in the 1960s. Originally small towns in their own right, both are also growing as their two giant neighbours expand.
The timber 1885 Uniting (formerly Methodist) Church is a reminder of Pimpama's past.

The War Memorial's soldier has long guarded the stretch of Old Highway One in Pimpama. Urban legend has it that if you don't salute him as you pass then you could meet a sticky end!

For many years the iconic Strawberry Farm in Pimpama was a working farm where visitors could pick their own strawberries. Motorway construction and land values have seen an end to the farm alas, but the original cafe building and a petting farm remain. The highlight, however, is the signature giant strawberry cones - these are not to be missed!

Yatala (pop. 1,330) was originally focused on agriculture, but is nowadays home to a large and growing industrial estate, a rare, still-operating Drive-In Theatre and a major brewery. Old Highway One used to pass right by the Big Pie - the Yatala Pie Shop has been a fixture on the Old Pacific Highway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast for 130 years.

Founded in the 1860s, Beenleigh (pop. 7,816) was home to a thriving sugar industry and still hosts Australia's oldest rum distillery. Previously an entirely separate town, nowadays, however, it has been absorbed into the greater Brisbane and south-east Queensland urban sprawl. Old Highway One used to pass right through the main street.
The Imperial Hotel is one of three classic old pubs on or near Old Highway One in Beenleigh.

Beenleigh's Royal Hotel.

Beenleigh's historic Sundowner Hotel.

Blessed with an excellent climate and surrounded by world-famous beaches, bays and hinterland, Brisbane (pop. 1.8 million) is Australia's third largest, and its fastest-growing, city.
The Big Gun Centre on Logan Rd (Old Highway One) in Underwood hosts TWO Highway One Giants! This is the Big Cow.

The Big Gun Centre at Underwood's Big Gun.

The Big Redback is truly the stuff of nightmares as he dwarfs the outdoor toilet ("dunny" in the Australian vernacular) he is crawling over - watch out for him at the Redback Garden Centre on Old Highway One at Eight Mile Plains.

This historic photo from 1969 shows the old tram lines and Old Highway One passing through what is now a busy shopping area in Stones Corner.

There aren't many left but this classic old NR1 sign still guards Old Highway One near Woolloongabba.

The old Moreton Rubber Works has long been a landmark beside Old Highway One near the Woolloongabba Five Ways.

Magnificent 1873 St Marys Anglican Church is beautifully sited on the cliffs at Kangaroo Point overlooking the Brisbane skyline.

Brisbane's Windsor Bowls Club is a typical example of a common Brisbane social mainstay.

Brisbane's Lutwyche is home to a number of historic buildings, including the imposing 1926 St Andrews Anglican Church.

The Redcliffe Museum is housed in the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church building and has developed an interesting heritage walk around Redcliffe's historic highlights.

Comprehensive Caboolture Historical Village has over 20,000 items on show, historic buildings, special interest groups and many other activities and diversions to enjoy.

Old Highway One leads us through a string of little Glasshouse Mountains towns and also up close to some of these famous landmarks.

Mt Tibrogargan is one of the best known of the Glasshouse Mountains.

The little town of Glasshouse Mountains is home to Bruce Pde, a long-bypassed Old Highway One alignment.

Beerwah hosts a twice-bypassed section of Old Highway One. Now a 1km quiet country-town street, Old Highway One takes us past the Big Mower, a very quirky Highway One Giant.....

....through the heart of town and right past the classic 1937 Beerwah Hotel.

Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo is about 3km north of Beerwah on the east side of Old Highway One; another Highway One icon.

Entertaining visitors since 1971, the Big Pineapple on Old Highway One at Woombye is one of the best known, best loved and biggest Highway One giants.

Founded in 1870, Nambour is still a sugar and agricultural town, but is also increasingly a service and tourism centre for the region. The whole "Nambour" Old Highway One loop was bypassed in 1990. This is a rare 4-lane section of the old road.

Nambour's inviting 100 year old Club Hotel graces Old Highway One in town.

Look out for the second bovine giant in Queensland on the west of Old Highway One in Kulangoor near the railway crossing just a couple of kilometres north of Nambour.

Yandina (pop. 1,075) is tucked away just off the M1 and is a classic Old Highway One small town. Don't miss the 1887 Yandina Hotel, one of the oldest buildings on the Sunshine Coast.

Yandina is home to the world-famous and award-winning Ginger Factory tourist complex - over-eating on chocolate-coated ginger is another must-do activity at this icon on any Old Highway One road trip.

Eumundi (pop. 488) is much better known than its small size would indicate. The famous Eumundi Markets are held at the railway station each Saturday and draw thousands of visitors from near and far. Just opposite is the 1911 Imperial Hotel, original home of Eumundi Lager; drinking this beer is one more of the must-do activities of an Old Highway One road trip. The main part of Eumundi was bypassed in 1976.

Joe's Waterhole in Eumundi is the former Commercial Hotel, built 1926, and another standout on Old Highway One.

Pomona (pop. 1,004) is a historic small town that was once the administrative centre for the surrounding (former) Noosa Shire. Beautifully positioned at the foot of Mt Cooroora, Pomona is known as a living heritage town full of intact historical buildings. The entrance into town from the south is particularly impressive.
Old Highway One through Pomona follows a 1960s alignment through picturesque hinterland countryside.

The Pomona Heritage Walk's highlights include the 1921 Majestic Cinema (the oldest continuously running silent-movie cinema in the world).

This Blue-faced Honeyeater is another local you can meet at the Mountain Stop Cafe!

Overlooked by the Cooran Tablelands and with the Mothar Mountain State Forest nearby Cooran (pop. 771) is a typically laid-back small town easily overlooked. The School of Arts dates right back to 1906.

This old Cooran shop houses the Art Gallery.

Bonney Lane is a small remnant piece of old highway, probably dating to after the "Skyring Creek" Old Highway One alignment was bypassed pre-1960s.

Originally called Nashville, Gympie (pop. 10,933) was established in the 1840s, but hit pay dirt when gold was discovered in the 1860s - the population rocketed to 25,000 within a few months as word spread. Nowadays, Gympie is the administrative centre for the surrounding region and remains an amazingly interesting and historic town. There are even legends and stories around a pyramid-shaped hill east of town… ask about the stories in one of Gympie's classic pubs. Old Highway One used to wend an attractive path right through the main residential and business sections of Gympie.
1883 Australian Hotel (and its views) are a highlight.

1880s Freemasons Hotel is another Gympie icon.

Gympie's Phoenix Hotel (1887).

Former Salvation Army Church (1939) in Gympie.

The Valley Rattler steam train runs regularly through the picturesque Mary Valley and is a major Gympie tourist attraction.

Gympie's classic Railway Hotel (ask about the mystery ashes)!

A lovely heritage home on Old Highway One in Gympie,

Gympie's St Patricks Catholic Church (1883) graces the hill above down town.

Gympie's beautiful old Uniting Church (1890).

Gympie Town Hall (1890).

Part of the "Two Mile" former alignment, McCullough Rd is an old concrete Old Highway One alignment on the north side of Gympie.

An old piece of old concrete Old Highway One north of McCullough Rd returning to nature north of Gympie.

The southern end of the "Spring Valley Rd" former Old Highway One alignment just north of Chatsworth with the modern A1 right alongside.

Curra (pop. 1,372) is a small town and railway siding established in the 1860s. The old road used to continue through Curra on Atkinson Rd and cross the boggy ground and railway line before turning back north onto Harvey Siding Rd. As the old bridge is long gone, the road must now be explored in two sections.

The Old Highway One former bridge site at Curra.

The "Gootchie" former and abandoned Old Highway One alignments is a rewarding and complex set of old alignment ghosts, traces and fragments to explore, although many of the abandoned fragments are on private property.
This old concrete road section is so durable that although it has been decades since this road carried traffic it would still be drivable; it just needs the grass to be mown - it even has the centre line still visible in places!

Molteno Rd is in good condition and driveable right through to the road closure at about 1.6km in and is walkable beyond that.

Hemmings Rd is a classic piece of abandoned Old Highway One.

Old Highway One used to make a short loop through historic Maryborough via Gympie Rd and Ferry St and out on Walker St. Known as Queensland's Heritage City, Maryborough (pop. 21,501) is one of Queensland's oldest towns; established in 1847. Maryborough abounds with historic and colonial buildings and with a healthy scattering of classy art deco highlights as well.
Don't miss the legendary country-style steaks and other meals at the historic local hotels - this was a lunch-time feast at the Post Office Hotel.

Armed and dangerous, the Big Ned Kelly guards the Ned Kelly Motel and service station. The motel's slogan is "Where you're treated like one of the gang!".

Lovely Art Deco second storey above a Maryborough shop.

Imposing 1906 Maryborough City Hall.

Historic 1875 Maryborough Courthouse

Maryborough's magnificent 1878 Criterion Hotel.

The former Bells Vue Hotel in Maryborough appears to have been quite substantial at one time but no more.

The Dominion Milling Company was obviously a big operation in Maryborough once. The faded sign on the roof says "The Old Millhouse Bowerbird Nest" and it appears to be a big second hand goods site now.

This is the former Engineers Arms Hotel in Maryborough, built 1870.

On the ground floor of the historic 1878 Bank of New South Wales building, the Maryborough Family Heritage Institute holds one of the largest collections of genealogy records in Queensland, covering the immigrant passengers into Queensland and cemetery and burial records for a number of Queensland areas.

Maryborough's Mary River looking from historic Wharf St.

1879 St Paul's Anglican Church in Maryborough.

Look out for Maryborough's old World War II air-raid shelter outside the railway station.

Until the 1960s, Old Highway One used to do a quaint dogleg via "The Triplets" former alignment east across the railway line and through the "triplets"; Torbanlea (pop. 420), Burrum Town (pop. 607) and Howard (pop. 1,071). These three small historic towns date back to the 1860s and together form a service centre for the surrounding sugar, citrus and other agricultural industry.
Be sure to check out the interesting murals at the Coalfields Cafe in Howard.

Howard's historic Brooklyn House (1890).

Historic 1888 Grand Hotel in Howard.

Recently recognised as "Queensland's best heritage town", Childers (pop. 1,350) is another well-preserved historic small town. Dating back to the 1850s, its history has been marked by two fire events; a blaze in 1902 razed one side of the main street and more recently a tragic fire killed 15 young backpackers in 2000.
Childers' stylish Federal Hotel (1907).

Childers' two storey R.S.L. club was built in 1901 for the C.B.C. Bank.

The touching Soldiers Room Memorial in the Isis Shire Chambers in Childers, opened in 1926.

Step into the past at the Pharmaceutical Museum located in the heart of Childers. An unique collection dating back to the 1800s.

The 1927 Paragon Theatre in Childers is highly intact and still showing pictures.

The Hotel Childers, although heavily modified in the 1930s, dates way back to the late 1800s.

Just off Old Highway One on the way to Bundaberg, between Apple Tree Creek and Bundaberg is the small country town of Cordalba (pop. 295) and its classic 1895 Commercial Hotel in Queen St.

Although Bundaberg (pop. 46,961) is best known for its famous Bundaberg Rum Distillery, it has its own charming laid-back character and an interesting architectural record.
Bundaberg's 1902 Post Office & War Memorial are in the centre of downtown.

The striking 1889 School of Arts building in Bundaberg.

Lovely 1927 Christ Church Anglican Church in Bundaberg.

Bundaberg's 1932 former St Andrew's Uniting Church is now now 7th Day Adventist.

The 1888 Bundaberg Rum Distillery is one of Queensland's best-loved icons and a visit here is an Old Highway One must-do. As William Neville Scott is said to have so eloquently stated: "Bundaberg rum, overproof rum; will tan your insides and grow hair on your bum."! The Big Bottle, another Highway One Giant, guards the entrance to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery.

As well as being a Highway One Giant, the Big Barrel is actually the Interpretive Visitor Centre for Bundaberg Brewed Drinks - delicious!

Bundaberg's unusual 1902 eight-storey East Water Tower is prominent on the skyline.

Bundaberg's Globe Hotel still graces Old Highway One in North Bundaberg.

Another Highway One icon, the Mystery Craters, are well signposted on Old Highway One just west of South Kolan. The complex is one of the quirkier ones we'll encounter on our journey!

The Mystery Craters at South Kolan .... REVEALED!

Gin Gin (pop. 892) is a small highway service town with rest areas right through town for the weary Highway One tourer. The Gin Gin Museum complex is interesting and comprehensive.
The Post Office is a great example of the timber-built Queensland variety.

Gin Gin's VERY-coubtry Highway Hotel.

In the relatively empty area near Gindoran, between Gin Gin and Miriam Vale, look out for an interesting, long abandoned Old Highway One alignment off the intersection with John Clifford Way. The old alignment quickly enters private property.

There is still plenty of evidence of the old bitumen, and even traces of the centre line, on the old Gindoran abandoned alignment.