Varsity Lakes
| Varsity Lakes Gold Coast, Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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| Population | 11,796 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4227 | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Gold Coast City | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Burleigh, Mermaid Beach | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Moncrieff | ||||||||||||||
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Varsity Lakes is a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland. This suburb was originally known as Stephens, however in 2002 Stephens, Andrews and a section of Robina was amalgamated to form the new suburb of Varsity Lakes. The 2001 Australian Census reported a population of 6,516 for the area.[1]
History
In 1873 Thomas Blacket Stephens purchased 6980 acres of the hinterland and would name the area Merrimac Estate. In 1981 the Minister for Environment, Valuation and Administrative Services renamed the area Stephens after Thomas Blacket. In 1999 the area between Stephens and Robina was purchased by Delfin Lend Lease and development on the area named Varsity Lakes began. The success of the area resulted in the suburbs Stephens, Andrews and some parts of Robina joining together to become a new suburb named Varsity Lakes.
Origin of Name
The Varsity Lakes name came from a development by Delfin Lend Lease. Residents of the Varsity Lakes development have objected to being amalgamated into the same suburb as those from Stephens due to its history as a low socio-economic area. Fears were held by land owners that property values would drop. Some residents of the Varsity Lakes development threatened legal action against the developers to gain compensation.
In the 12 months to September 2008, the median house price in Varsity Lakes was $477,500.[2]
Public transport
Regular bus services are provided by local company Surfside Buslines. These run seven days a week and provide connections to the main coastal services and to Robina Railway Station. These bus services are operated as part of TransLink, an integrated public transport network.
It was announced in the 2006/07 Queensland State Budget that the Gold Coast rail line was to be extended through to Varsity Lakes at a cost of $39.6 million.[3] The Varsity Lakes railway station was opened in December, 2009. The eventual cost was $300 million.[4]