Lifeguard Tower

This delightfully yellow lifeguard surveillance tower is located at Hilda Street on Mermaid Beach in Queensland, Australia.

Founded in 1946, Mermaid Beach lies just north of the Barrier Reef precinct. It was named after the Mermaid Beach Estate, a speculative land subdivision founded by New South Wales Surveyor-General John Oxley. While many of the residential neighborhoods surrounding the beach mostly house retirees, but the median age of Mermaid Beach residents is just 34 years.

This lifeguard tower is one of 45 that were built along the coastline in 1989, when the city became the first in Australia to adopt a formal beach surveillance plan.

Today, Mermaid Beach’s lifeguard service retains 37 permanent and 140 seasonal staff members patrolling 26 beaches year-round, and an additional 42 during the holiday season.