Palm Beach is bounded to the north by Tallebudgera Creek, to the east by the Coral Sea, to the south by Currumbin Creek, and to the west by the Pacific Motorway. Palm Beach has thrice been voted cleanest beach in Queensland. Certainly subdivided by the mid-1950s the subdivision is unusual in the way in which it straddles both sides of the highway. Streets along the highway are named from first to twenty-eighth starting at the southern end of the area and each second one terminates at the highway. Between the beach and the highway in the southern part of the area the narrow Jefferson Lane links across streets. In this lane are some of the earliest and most basic of Gold Coast beach "shacks", some on blocks of land valued in millions of dollars. There is some suggestion that these in fact predate the subdivision and other remnants of an earlier settlement. Recent extensions of the Palm Beach area to the west have created new subdivisions with different characteristics including a small section of canal development. The area is bounded to the north by the Tallebudgera Creek and the national recreation camp and to the south by tower developments at the mouth of Currumbin Creek. The creek mouths of Tallebudgera and Currumbin have been stabilised with training walls built during the 1970s. Both of the Creek entrances are dredged on an annual basis. There are nearshore bait reefs along Palm Beach and offshore there are fishing reefs that are some of the most productive of the Gold Coast. Laguna Lake is in the south western part of the suburb, with Elizabeth Sloper Gardens park around its edges. The Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park, at the northern end of Palm Beach, provides holiday accommodation mainly for families. The adjacent Tallebudgera Recreational Camp is a national fitness camp visited by children from throughout Queensland. Coastal management structures at Palm Beach include training walls at Currumbin and Tallebudgera Creek entrances and mini groynes at 11th and 21st Avenues. The Gold Coast Oceanway is of particular poor quality through Palm Beach due to the majority of the beachfront being effectively in private ownership. Recent loss of sand due to unusual weather and tidal patterns have caused some houses along the beachfront to lose their yards to the erosion.
History
Palm Beach Surf Club was established in 1930. Palm Beach-Currumbin State High School opened on 24 January 1972. Palm Beach State School opened on 4 February 1974. The Palm Beach Library opened in 1998 and had a major refurbishment in 2011. Palm Beach was judged Queensland's Cleanest Beach in 1999 and again in 2000 and 2011 by the Keep Australia Beautiful Council. Extreme erosion along Palm Beach in 2011 revealed rusted car bodies, among other aged items, usually many meters below sand. In the, Palm Beach had a population of 14,654 people.
Palm Beach State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at 13-19 Nineteenth Avenue. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 511 students with 37 teachers and 21 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program. Students in southern Palm Beach can attend Currumbin State School in Currumbin. Palm Beach-Currumbin State High School is a government secondary school for boys and girls at Thrower Drive. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 2457 students with 179 teachers and 87 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program. Students in western Palm Beach can attend Elanora State High School in Elanora. Tallebudgera Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre is an Outdoor and Evironmental Education Centre at 1525 Gold Coast Highway.
Amenities
The Gold Coast City Council operate a community lounge and public library at Eleventh Avenue. Palm Beach Surf Club at 117 Jefferson Lane provides surf lifesaving services and clubhouse dining facilities. Established in 1930, there has never been a fatality in its flagged beach zones.
