Ten years of protecting the coast

Burleigh Barrel by Josh Bystrom bystrom_photo.jpg

What started as a protest on Kirra sand became one of the world's most recognised surfing reserves — protecting 16 kilometres of Gold Coast coastline, and the man who's spent a decade making sure it stays that way. Why the Gold Coast Stretching 16 kilometres from Burleigh Beach to the Queensland/NSW border — and out to 500 metres offshore — the Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve protects some of the best point breaks on the planet. It's this stretch of coastline that shaped Australian surfing, and it's why the world took notice: chosen ahead of a global field for the strength of its waves and the depth of community behind them. Recognition is only half the story. Day to day, the reserve is overseen by a local stewardship committee of stakeholders, underpinned by the City of Gold Coast's Surf Management Plan — renewed for another five years in 2026. That ongoing, local oversight is what keeps the waves, the breaks and the coastline around them protected for the long term, not just celebrated once and left alone.

The man behind the movement

None of it would exist without Andrew McKinnon, known across the surf world simply as AndyMac. In January 2014 he co-organised the Save Kirra Rally, where over 2,000 surfers turned out to protest coastal development that threatened the point break — a protest that became a two-year campaign for World Surfing Reserve status. A former World Longboard Champion and Life Member of Surfing Queensland, AndyMac has served as President of Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve Inc. ever since, still the driving force behind protecting the coastline he fought to save — proof that one person turning up to a rally can genuinely change how a coastline gets treated for generations.

A decade in, and going further

In February 2026, the Gold Coast marked ten years as a World Surfing Reserve, and AndyMac chaired the celebration himself — hosting the World Surfing Conservation Conference at Southern Cross University and bringing together surfers, scientists and ocean conservationists from across the globe. The celebrations continued with the East Coast Activation Tour, a five-day journey connecting surf communities from the Gold Coast to Sydney, now captured in a short film. Ten years after that first rally on Kirra sand, it's the same fight, just with a much bigger stage.