Wish You Were Here (FREE Exhibition + Talk Story)
Step into a time before Instagram, when a single postcard image was the FOMO mechanism to spark wanderlust and put the Gold Coast on traveler’s itinerary.
Wish You Were Here is an exhibition from surfer, surfboard shaper, artist and photographer Richard Harvey, bringing together his personal collection of vintage postcards and his own postcard-perfect photographs.
Originally commissioned to shoot postcard images in his early years, Harvey’s lifelong fascination with visual storytelling began. Wish You Were Here traces that journey, from faded, found relics of early Gold Coast life to striking scenes captured through his own lens, the collection reveals how surf culture, travel, and image-making have always been intertwined.
An iconic figure in Australian surf, Harvey’s story runs parallel to the evolution of the coast itself; from his early days competing on the world stage, shaping boards on the Gold Coast, and documenting Queensland’s surfing heritage. As part of the exhibition, Richard will host a special Talk Story evening sharing firsthand insights into how postcard imagery once fueled tourism, the shifting identity of the Gold Coast, and why these small, tangible images mattered long before the digital age.
Exhibition: 1-15 May, venue open times vary daily
Talk Story: 13 May, 6:00 pm
Fri, May 1
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Sat, May 2
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Sun, May 3
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Mon, May 4
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Tue, May 5
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Wed, May 6
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Thu, May 7
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Fri, May 8
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Sat, May 9
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Sun, May 10
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Mon, May 11
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Tue, May 12
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Wed, May 13
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Thu, May 14
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Fri, May 15
11:30 am — 8:30 pm
Buy tickets
Coolangatta Sands Hotel