Oxenford
Postcode: 4210
Oxenford is a suburb of the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland, Australia. The suburb is bordered to the north by the Coomera River; the Pacific Motorway forms the eastern boundary. Theme parks Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet’n’Wild Water World are located within Oxenford’s boundaries.
In 1869, W.R. Oxenford took up 90 hectares (225 acres) near the Coomera River and gained a reputation as a pioneer in experimental farming in the Coomera district. Less than two kilometres from the southern bank of the Coomera River, a station platform was named Oxenford. Often special trains terminated here bringing Brisbane punters to midweek meetings held at the adjoining racecourse.
Before a road bridge was constructed over the Coomera River in 1930, a ferry provided access for vehicles on the South Coast Road (today’s Pacific Motorway). The Ferry Hotel operated on the northern bank and the Oxenford Hotel provided accommodation and refreshment for travellers waiting for the ferry on the southern bank. The Oxenford Racecourse and Rail Station were conveniently located nearby. Today, the refurbished hotel, renamed the Oxenford Tavern survives as a link to those earlier days, with the racecourse and station, long gone.
The Oxenford Hotel was once owned by Coomera personality and one time State Cabinet Minister, Russell Hinze. A nearby park, the Russ Hinze Reserve located near a Hinze family dairy farm was named in honour of the family in 1975. The Russ Hinze Park was included in the first stage of the Oxenford Estate residential development, an enterprise of the Mainline Corporation Ltd and the first major housing project in the area.