Advancetown, Queensland

Advancetown Gold Coast, Queensland
Hinze Dam after the 3rd Stage completion
Population	352 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	4211
LGA(s)	City of Gold Coast
State electorate(s)	Mudgeeraba
Federal Division(s)	McPherson
Suburbs around Advancetown: Clagiraba Mount Nathan Nerang Gilston Lower Beechmont Advancetown Tallai Mudgeeraba Beechmont Numinbah Neranwood

Advancetown is a small outer locality of City of Gold Coast in South East Queensland, Australia. It is situated in the Gold Coast hinterland. At the 2011 Census the population was 352.

The area first attracted timber-cutters in the 1870s because of the abundant supply of good quality timber. In 1881 David Yuan established at saw mill and European settlement began. A small settlement sprang up as a rest point for the bullock teams hauling timber to the railway at Nerang. As late as the 1930s, there were still up to 24 bullock teams operating in the area.

In 1884 the first hotel was built by W. H. Turner called the Beechmont Hotel. In 1905, Ernest Belliss opened a hotel on the corner of Numinbah Road and a bullock road from Beechmont known as the Black Shoot; he called it the Advancetown Hotel. Belliss also donated land for the Advancetown school, which made the name endure. Belliss sold the hotel in March 1924 and the timber building burned down in July 1933. A new Advancetown Hotel was built and opened in February 1934.

Advancetown State School opened in 1909 but then closed in 1913. It reopened in 1918 but closed again in 1952.

In 1977, the Hinze Dam opened. The settlement of Advancetown including the school (which was closed by then) was lost under the dam's waters. As the settlement of Advancetown was gone, the surrounding district was named Latimer, after nearby Latimer Creek, on 31 March 1979 but renamed Advancetown on 11 May 1985.

The suburb was part of the Shire of Albert until it was amalgamated into the City of Gold Coast in 1995.

It is the location of the Advancetown Lake and Hinze Dam, which supplies water for most of the citizens of the Gold Coast.

Hinze Dam sits on Advancetown Lake and the Nerang River flows to and from it. Hinze Dam was first completed in 1976 (Stage 1), providing a storage of 42,400 million litres of water to surrounding residents. Since then there have been 2 significant upgrades; the first in 1989 (Stage 2) increasing the storage to 161,070 million litres of water and the second in 2011 (Stage 3) increasing the storage again to 310,730 million litres of water. It reportedly cost 395 million dollars AUD. The dam is also popular with water activities.