Background
Bruce Small was born in Ryde, New South Wales, in 1895.
Bruce Small was born in Ryde, New South Wales, in 1895.
In Melbourne, he developed Malvern Star bicycles into a household name in Australia, then retired to the Gold Coast, Queensland, where he developed property, and as Mayor of the Gold Coast, promoted the area to Australia and the world as a family friendly holiday destination through the bikini-clad meters maids in Surfers Paradise. With the Second World War affecting parts supply, Malvern Star bicycles started manufacturing many of its own parts for bicycles. Defence contracts help the growth of the business.
At its peak after the Second World War, Malvern Star had 115 stores with 1,000 dealers.
From 1945 Bruce Small owned land at Gowanbrae and promoted property development in Strathmore Heights, in Melbourne. In 1956 he bought 40 hectares of flood-prone mangrove land on the Nerang River, on the Gold Coast.
He retired from his Malvern Star business in 1958. From 1958 to the mid-1960s, he pioneered canal developments based on "proven United States. methods" from the United States. state of Florida.
Bruce Small was also the brainchild behind the development of 100 private "own your own" flats Edgewater Towers, Street Kilda, Victoria which at 13 storeys was the tallest residential apartment building in Victoria at the time it opened 4 March 1961.
In 1967, with the slogan "Think Big, Vote Small", he was elected Mayor of the Gold Coast, holding office till 1973. He was re-elected from 1976 to 1978. Like many politicians during this period, a time prior to the existence of conflict of interest laws, he saw no conflict between his duties as Mayor and his opportunities as a property developer.
After a season of cyclonic storms which battered the Gold Coast in 1967, Small was instrumental in promoting this area as a family holiday destination through widespread appearances and promotions of the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids, established in 1965, to attract tourists back to the area.
From 1972 to 1977 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the seat of Surfers Paradise for the Country Party (later renamed the National Party of Australia). He was knighted in 1974 for his services to the Gold Coast and Queensland.
The Gold Coast City Council has named the Sir Bruce Small Park in Benowa, and Sir Bruce Small Boulevard after him.