Is This The End? So Long Fisherman's Wharf!

With debate about the future of Fisherman’s Wharf continuing and the impending new development on the landmark Gold Coast property, we thought we’d take a trip down memory lane (well, what memories we can actually recall!!).

A post on the hugely popular Facebook group Have You Seen The Old Gold Coast (which is AMAZING BTW) reads, “I just thought I’d let you know that Fisherman’s Wharf Tavern is permanently closing its doors this Sunday 25th June (4 days’ time) 😞 It’s set to be demolished ahead of the huge Marina redevelopment project, of which construction is due to start shortly.”

Fisho’s is part of GC history, with some of the biggest bands in the world gracing the green lawn including Nirvana on Australia Day 1992 when they SUPPORTED the Violent Femmes.

“That was definitely one of the craziest gigs I have ever worked on,” Mike Ballinger told the ABC in 2017 about the now legendary gig. “I have still not seen anything like it. It was nuts.”

“When the guys turned up to the show they had a look at the stage… and said ‘This isn’t going to work. The barrier needs to be separated from the stage so if the barrier goes it doesn’t take the stage with it,” he explained.

“The staging guy said ‘Mate, I’ve been setting up concerts in this country for 20 years so don’t come in here telling me how to do my job’.”

To which the band responded, “You’ve never seen anything like a Nirvana crowd.”

And Fisho’s had never seen anything like it either, with crowd estimates on the day putting it around 14,000 people.

Nirvana wasn’t the only band to take the waterfront stage over the years, INXS and Urge Overkill played there in 1994, Iggy Pop in ’93 as well as Crowded House, Hunters and Collectors, Jimmy Barnes and soooo many more.

With so many Gold Coasters and tourists visiting Fisho’s over the years for live music, their iconic Sunday Sessions or dropping in to Jo-Jo’s for a feed, we thought we’d pop up some shots of the past as a time capsule for the future!

Check out this ad from 1987: