This is the last time the Kirra of old showed up. Many would say this is a shade of its former self, too. Photo: ASP / Robertson
Uncork the champagne, bust out your favorite stick and dream of perfect reeling barrels at night because Kirra is coming back! Shortly enough, the Kirra of old will no longer be a point of nostalgia thanks to a restoration project on the Gold Coast. Started in late July of 2013, the reinstatement of 30 meters of jetty that Kirra Point lost back in 1995 will allow waves to connect, ideally, all the way through to produce the legendary barrels that made the spot famous. A man-made jetty, or groyne, will be built from the shore out into the water out of boulders that will be placed in the water. Groynes are normally built to protect from the shoreline form coastal erosion. The one being restored at Kirra Point, known as Big Groyne, will bring back to the long-time Queensland surfing mecca its formerly perfect waves.
Kirra Point saw its heyday back in the 1970s with surfers such as Michael Peterson, Rabbit Bartholomew and Wayne Deane destroying the lineup on a regular basis. These talented surfers would take long right barrels off of Kirra Point and ride them for what seemed like days. In 1995, Kirra Point was reduced by 30 meters in an effort to combat the shore erosion at Greenmount. This frustrated many of the surfers and people of the Gold Coast because it altered the break of the waves off the point. Since the altering of the point, there have been various campaigns to bring Kirra back to its original length to get the surf back to the quality breaks it once experienced.
The funding for the project comes from the Gold Coast City Council, and a total of $800,000 is being put towards the project which was supported by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. No money is being channeled from the state government as originally planned, but the locals don’t mind. The politicians and surfers look forward to the return of fame and fortune at Kirra and the Gold Coast. The mayor has said that the surfing industry alone is worth $3 billion to their local economy. Don’t you love it when government sees surfing as an asset and not a liability? We’re turning the corner, people.
Surfers, put your tinny down and get in the bone yard where the action is happening. Kirra Point is back! It’s a celebration!
