United States Navy Coolangatta Leave Area Greenmount Hill Camp NO. 4 Picnic Shelter

United States Navy Coolangatta Leave Area Greenmount Hill Camp NO. 4 Picnic Shelter is located in Coolangatta

Address: Pat Fagan Park, Marine Parade, Coolangatta

Position on map:

The United States Navy Greenmount Hill Camp No. 4 Picnic Shelter is a place of local heritage significance for the Gold Coast for its rarity, historic, potential information and social significance. The shelter, originally constructed in circa 1942, demonstrates the use of Coolangatta by United States armed forces as a rest and recreation area and is evidence of the role of the Gold Coast in the war effort. The structure is an example of the type of camp building construction undertaken by the United States 77th Construction Battalion during their stay at the Coolangatta Leave Area. The camp was also used during the mid-1940s as a place for Australian soldiers who had been prisoners of war to recuperate. Located on Greenmount Hill, the shelter is now part of the public recreation area known as Pat Fagan Park and remains in use today as a picnic shelter. As the last surviving structure from the United States Coolangatta Leave Area Greenmount Hill Camp No. 4, the shelter demonstrates a rare aspect of the history of the Gold Coast and its cultural heritage. The shelter has the potential to provide information that will contribute to a greater understanding of the United States Military use of Gold Coast sites during World War II. The shelter is thought to have been the ablutions block for the camp and there is potential for artefacts, remnants of the underground septic system and original footings to remain subsurface. The shelter is important to the local community as evidence of the impact of World War II on the Gold Coast community and a reminder of the presence of American forces and the way in which their influence changed the Gold Coast community. The shelter has a strong association with the American service men and women who were welcomed to the Gold Coast as both allies and potential protectors. Coupled with the pressures of World War II, the local presence of the large numbers of American service personal on rest and recreation leave had an enormous influence on the culture of the Gold Coast community.

Queensland Heritage Register: NO
Heritage protection boundary: Building plus 5m radius