Bernie Elsey
Encyclopedia
Bernie Elsey Snr
Bernie Elsey Snr (190625 August 1986} was a property developer and entrepreneur
, associated with early developments on the Gold Coast
, Queensland
, Australia
.
in 1906, and migrated to Australia
at the age of nine. He had little formal education, and his distinguishing feature was his chronic stuttering. Elsey worked in the mundane trade of plumbing in Toowoomba, Queensland
until he was 40. His motto was "To succeed in life, you have to sell yourself and believe in what you are doing". He did succeed in spite of apparent impediments.
He was unorthodox as well as grossly confident. After quitting the plumbing trade, he embarked on a new career by gambling on his salesmanship and offering himself to a Brisbane
food wholesaler (Sanitarium) without pay for a month's trail. Again he succeeded and after a successful interlude with his own food distribution business arrived on the Gold Coast in 1949 to build the reputation as the 'self-made millionaire whose colourful character helped paint the Gold Coast bright'.
Elsey was a visionary who worked hard to sell and achieve his dreams. While consolidating his day-cruises to Tipplers Passage on Stradbroke Island
, he hawked Singer sewing machines door to door. Quick to recognise the potential of the Broadwater, he successfully sold to Ansett Airlines the idea of a Sandringham flying boat service to Southport. Seeing passengers arriving from Sydney in lots of 44, ferrying them to their accommodation, he recognised that there was a deficiency in appropriate accommodation, a need which he set about filling.
Elsey saw entertainment as an adjunct of accommodation and set himself with a salesman's discernment to get the best for the least for the greatest profit. When he found that The Beatles
, whom he had engaged to appear at his Coolangatta Beachcomber, expected free food as well as pay, he cancelled the arrangement and substituted an unknown Brisbane group, the Gibb Brothers, later known as the Bee Gees
.
After deciding that Coolangatta was too conservative for his style of development, Elsey concentrated his energy on Surfers Paradise, where restraints were few and opportunities many. He built the Surfrider Hotel, the Surfers Paradise beachcomber and Tiki Village. His in-house entertainments were legendary. The pyjama parties and Hawaiian nights pushed the edges of the law, filling national papers with copy and his establishments with patrons. Nor was his creative boldness limited to in-house activity. After an acrimonious struggle with rivals, he became chairman of the Surfers Paradise Chamber of Commerce and proceeded to promote the region with considerable emphasis on sex. In a classic example of the mover and shaker tilting at the regulators, he introduced the Metermaids, clad in minimal, gold bikinis and armed with sixpences employed to rescue motorists from expired parking meters. They were an Elsey creation.
Elsey also nudged regulators towards a relaxation of regulations that restricted his commercial activities. Although he did not drink or smoke, Elsey campaigned vigorously for relaxed liquor laws and ultimately succeeded. With an eye to attracting international tourists, he initiated a push for a casino, basing his case on investigative visits to 22 countries with casinos.
Elsey developed Daydream Island in the Whitsunday Islands in 1967, only to rebuild it after Cyclone Ada ravaged the island three years later. Unfortunately in his post-Surfers Paradise enterprise, Elsey was not so advantaged with pliant regulators, accommodating banks or luck. As is often the case with those who back their judgement to the limit, he lost. That he married four times and fathered a son Bernie Jnr at 75, may indicate his persistence, his energy or his inability to form close permanent relationships or all of those, but without doubt, he moved and shook Surfers Paradise vigorously.
Bernard Elsey died on 25 August 1986 at his Gilston mansion in the Gold Coast Hinterland after a short battle with cancer. Before taking a bottle of sleeping pills, he wrote a love letter to his young Filipino bride Angelina, encouraging her to be strong and to look after their 5 year old son. He also packed a box full of his most treasured worldly possessions addressed to his son saying simply, "Dear Jr, Carry on the good work. Lots of Love Daddy xoxo".
Bernie Elsey Snr (190625 August 1986} was a property developer and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, associated with early developments on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Biography
Elsey was born in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1906, and migrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
at the age of nine. He had little formal education, and his distinguishing feature was his chronic stuttering. Elsey worked in the mundane trade of plumbing in Toowoomba, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
until he was 40. His motto was "To succeed in life, you have to sell yourself and believe in what you are doing". He did succeed in spite of apparent impediments.
He was unorthodox as well as grossly confident. After quitting the plumbing trade, he embarked on a new career by gambling on his salesmanship and offering himself to a Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
food wholesaler (Sanitarium) without pay for a month's trail. Again he succeeded and after a successful interlude with his own food distribution business arrived on the Gold Coast in 1949 to build the reputation as the 'self-made millionaire whose colourful character helped paint the Gold Coast bright'.
Elsey was a visionary who worked hard to sell and achieve his dreams. While consolidating his day-cruises to Tipplers Passage on Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century...
, he hawked Singer sewing machines door to door. Quick to recognise the potential of the Broadwater, he successfully sold to Ansett Airlines the idea of a Sandringham flying boat service to Southport. Seeing passengers arriving from Sydney in lots of 44, ferrying them to their accommodation, he recognised that there was a deficiency in appropriate accommodation, a need which he set about filling.
Elsey saw entertainment as an adjunct of accommodation and set himself with a salesman's discernment to get the best for the least for the greatest profit. When he found that The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, whom he had engaged to appear at his Coolangatta Beachcomber, expected free food as well as pay, he cancelled the arrangement and substituted an unknown Brisbane group, the Gibb Brothers, later known as the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
.
After deciding that Coolangatta was too conservative for his style of development, Elsey concentrated his energy on Surfers Paradise, where restraints were few and opportunities many. He built the Surfrider Hotel, the Surfers Paradise beachcomber and Tiki Village. His in-house entertainments were legendary. The pyjama parties and Hawaiian nights pushed the edges of the law, filling national papers with copy and his establishments with patrons. Nor was his creative boldness limited to in-house activity. After an acrimonious struggle with rivals, he became chairman of the Surfers Paradise Chamber of Commerce and proceeded to promote the region with considerable emphasis on sex. In a classic example of the mover and shaker tilting at the regulators, he introduced the Metermaids, clad in minimal, gold bikinis and armed with sixpences employed to rescue motorists from expired parking meters. They were an Elsey creation.
Elsey also nudged regulators towards a relaxation of regulations that restricted his commercial activities. Although he did not drink or smoke, Elsey campaigned vigorously for relaxed liquor laws and ultimately succeeded. With an eye to attracting international tourists, he initiated a push for a casino, basing his case on investigative visits to 22 countries with casinos.
Elsey developed Daydream Island in the Whitsunday Islands in 1967, only to rebuild it after Cyclone Ada ravaged the island three years later. Unfortunately in his post-Surfers Paradise enterprise, Elsey was not so advantaged with pliant regulators, accommodating banks or luck. As is often the case with those who back their judgement to the limit, he lost. That he married four times and fathered a son Bernie Jnr at 75, may indicate his persistence, his energy or his inability to form close permanent relationships or all of those, but without doubt, he moved and shook Surfers Paradise vigorously.
Bernard Elsey died on 25 August 1986 at his Gilston mansion in the Gold Coast Hinterland after a short battle with cancer. Before taking a bottle of sleeping pills, he wrote a love letter to his young Filipino bride Angelina, encouraging her to be strong and to look after their 5 year old son. He also packed a box full of his most treasured worldly possessions addressed to his son saying simply, "Dear Jr, Carry on the good work. Lots of Love Daddy xoxo".
