Schoolies Week - Locations

Locations

Queensland's Gold Coast, particularly Surfers Paradise, maintains its status as the largest single venue for this revelry, attracting tens of thousands of schoolies. The Gold Coast is viewed as a liminal space, somewhere to get away, a city of theme parks and leisure by the sea where transitions are possible. Research carried out in 2003 found schoolies boosted the Gold Coast economy by $59 million. In 2011, up to 40,000 students were expected to visit the Gold Coast.

Schoolies are also present at the Sunshine Coast; this is an alternative for the graduates who fear the negative media attention attracted on the Gold Coast. According to the Sunshine Coast Region council the Sunshine Coast had about 500 schoolies visit in 2009. The local council on the Sunshine Coast stopped providing events for schoolies in 2007.

Schoolies have similar traditions at Magnetic Island in Townsville, Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays and Port Macquarie. Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise are particularly popular amongst private school graduates. For South Australia, Victor Harbor is the location of choice, while in Victoria the Surf Coast is popular, mainly consisting of Lorne and Torquay, however Phillip Island is also quite popular for students living in the east and south of Victoria. At Victor Harbor in 2011, approximately 15,000 students were expected to celebrate. In Western Australia, Rottnest Island off Perth and the South West towns of Dunsborough and Busselton are popular destinations. Also, Western Australians often go to Bali, which is located in Indonesia, as it is a spot for parties, late nights, and cheap shopping. In Tasmania there is not an established "Schoolies" location or tradition as such. Internationally, popular schoolies destinations include Fiji and Vanuatu. In Fiji, whole islands have been dedicated to schoolie celebrations.