On Schoolies night one, Covid alumni are specialists at adhering to the rules.
A group of kids have been indoctrinated with rules over the last 18 months, and it was evident on the Gold Coast’s first night of Schoolies celebrations.
On Saturday afternoon, Surfers Paradise was swamped with around 20,000 youngsters aged 17 or 18 for the annual trip.
Due to the pandemic, there was no official schoolies celebration on the seashore last year.
This year’s high school graduates demonstrated that the Covid shutdown taught them to play by the rules.
A queue of kids awaiting their schoolies wristbands snaked down a side street.
While school graduates passed through, security guards stood resolutely outside bottle shops, pubs, and clothes stores.
While some Christian evangelists distributed posters on major streets, others prepared to walk the teenagers home. McDonald’s on Cavill Ave, which was frequently the epicenter of chaos during a wild night at schoolies, was frequently patrolled by gangs of police.
Police stopped a 17-year-old teenager sitting alone and’searched for a blade’.
According to him, it was a rather typical occurrence.
“I was just outside McDonald’s on my phone when they approached and searched me. On this street, there are hundreds of other individuals, but I am searched.”
According to the police officer who oversaw the metal scan, the young man was seated alone when he was searched.
Ailai Price, 17, and his friend Jacob Rogers, 17, told news.com.au they were looking forward to a relaxing week.
“All we want to do is hang out, drink, and meet girls,” Ailai explained.
“It’s all been a little crazy with this Covid business, so we’re taking it easy.”
Both partners expressed a desire to attend “wherever the party is,” but clarified that they do not wish to consume excessive amounts of alcohol or experiment with drugs.
“No, if you’re really careless, it’s sh*t,” Jacob stated.
“Drugs are pernicious. As in, I’m not interested in that life”.
Above 40% of the 20,000 schoolchildren expected to attend this week are believed to be over the age of 18.
Clubs and taverns that have historically shied away from school-leavers are now welcoming teens with drink specials and other promotions.
Tyson Fabre, general manager of White Rhino Bar and Eats, expressed excitement about having the younger clientele.
“With the recent border closures, we’ve lost quite a bit of interstate tourism, and we’re in desperate need of a boost before Christmas,” he explained.
