Merrimac Suburb Profile and Insights

Detailed Insights

Merrimac sits between the Robina and Mudgeeraba side of the central Gold Coast and Carrara, Clear Island Waters and the Broadbeach corridor farther east. The Pacific Motorway lies close to its western side, while Gooding Drive crosses the suburb and provides its main connection between the motorway and Nerang-Broadbeach Road. Within this compact setting are several residential neighbourhoods, four substantial school campuses, Lakelands Golf Club, neighbourhood retail and significant areas of open and drainage land.

The suburb’s development pattern reflects the landscape that preceded it. Merrimac formed part of an extensive low-lying area associated with Mudgeeraba Creek, Boobegan Creek and other wetland systems. The district was used for dairying and farming before large-scale suburban development and golf-course construction transformed much of the locality from the late twentieth century. That background still helps explain Merrimac’s relatively flat terrain, watercourses, lakes and broad areas of open land between residential pockets.

Residential development did not occur in one continuous wave. Merridown Drive and surrounding streets contain an established family-housing market with comparatively generous land. Highfield Drive and nearby courts include a strong early-1990s layer on smaller blocks. Entry Drive and Felix Court contain later housing developed principally through the 2000s. Ghilgai Road, Bourton Road and Macadie Way contain substantial townhouse communities, while Lakelands Drive forms a separate gated golf-course residential enclave.

The Merridown Drive neighbourhood provides one of Merrimac’s clearest conventional detached-house markets. Merridown Drive curves through an established residential area west and south of Gooding Drive, connecting with Jura Parade and a network of courts and crescents. Sites around 600 to 750 square metres occur frequently, with some larger or irregular holdings adding further variety.

Housing here is predominantly detached and commonly single level, although two-storey homes are also present. Three and four-bedroom houses are well represented, and established blocks often retain room for pools, sheds, covered outdoor areas and additional parking. Mature gardens and street trees distinguish this area from Merrimac’s later compact housing pockets.

The age and condition of individual houses vary considerably. Some remain relatively close to their original form, while others have been substantially renovated, enlarged or reconfigured. Larger garages, carports, outdoor kitchens, patios and pool areas have been added to many properties over time, allowing the underlying suburban land pattern to accommodate changing household expectations without wholesale redevelopment.

Merridown Drive also benefits from a small local service cluster around Jura Parade and Gooding Drive. Merridown Shopping Centre provides convenience retail and services within walking distance of parts of the neighbourhood, while Stoner Family Park gives the residential area a substantial recreation space. This makes the pocket more self-contained for everyday routines than some of Merrimac’s quieter estate streets.

Stoner Family Park is particularly important to the local streetscape because it occupies a broad open area within the Merridown neighbourhood rather than a small residual house block. Playground, exercise and informal recreation spaces complement the private gardens surrounding it and create a green focus near the centre of the established housing.

The eastern and south-eastern residential streets around Highfield Drive form a different property environment. Detached houses from around the early 1990s remain prominent, including homes on sites around 400 to 450 square metres. The smaller blocks produce closer setbacks and less private land than Merridown Drive, although gardens, patios and pools remain possible depending on the individual layout.

Scotia Place and adjoining streets demonstrate this compact early-1990s housing pattern particularly clearly. Houses are generally modest in land area by older Gold Coast standards, but the neighbourhood remains detached and low rise. Renovation has introduced contemporary interiors and outdoor areas without fundamentally changing the original subdivision pattern.

All Saints Anglican School occupies a substantial campus beside this residential pocket. Its playing fields, landscaped grounds and institutional buildings create a large open edge rather than continuous adjoining housing. School-day movement is consequently more noticeable around Highfield Drive and connecting roads than through Merridown’s internal residential streets.

Entry Drive adds a later housing layer. Detached houses developed largely through the 2000s sit alongside a small townhouse community, creating a mixture of ownership forms within the same street. Detached sites around 600 square metres are represented alongside smaller blocks, and four or five-bedroom houses with double garages are common among the larger homes.

Felix Court and nearby streets continue this 2000s development pattern on generally more compact land. House sites around 400 to 500 square metres are common, with four-bedroom accommodation often using much of the available building envelope. Some properties include pools and substantial internal living areas despite their smaller sites, creating a very different balance between house size and garden area from the older Merridown neighbourhood.

These later streets show that Merrimac’s detached-house market is not defined by one standard block size. A house on Merridown Drive can occupy more than 700 square metres, while another detached home only a short distance away may sit on little more than 400 square metres. Building era, site coverage, remaining garden and parking therefore matter when comparing houses within the suburb.

Townhouse housing is especially prominent around Ghilgai Road. Several large communities line or adjoin the road, creating one of Merrimac’s principal medium-density residential areas. Three-bedroom townhouses are particularly common, usually arranged over two levels with garages and private courtyards or small gardens.

This housing remains visually different from apartment development. Buildings are generally grouped in low-rise rows or clusters rather than multi-storey towers, and individual residences retain direct ground-level entrances. Common driveways and landscaped grounds create a more intensive residential pattern than the surrounding detached streets without introducing a high-rise streetscape.

Bourton Road contains another important concentration of townhouses. Established communities sit close to Gooding Drive and the local bus network, giving the pocket strong access to schools and surrounding centres. Residences vary in size and age, with three-bedroom layouts widespread and garages forming part of most developments.

Macadie Way adds a later townhouse market with larger four-bedroom homes represented through several developments. Individual residences can provide internal floor areas approaching those of smaller detached houses, while the private land component remains much more compact. This broadens Merrimac’s attached-housing choice beyond conventional two and three-bedroom townhouse layouts.

Townhouses also appear around Entry Drive and other smaller pockets, meaning attached housing is distributed through the suburb rather than confined to one estate. The strongest concentrations nevertheless remain around Ghilgai Road, Bourton Road and Macadie Way, where the streetscape is materially denser than Merridown Drive or the golf-course estate.

Gooding Drive separates and connects many of these environments. It carries substantial cross-suburb traffic between the Pacific Motorway and Carrara while also serving Merrimac State School, St Michael’s College, local businesses and residential access. Properties directly facing or close to the road have a busier setting than internal courts and crescents, but also gain particularly direct access to the regional road network.

Merrimac State School occupies a leafy campus near Gooding Drive and Boowaggan Road. The school’s long history predates the surrounding suburb and its grounds retain substantial vegetation. The school provides government primary education from Prep to Year 6 and remains a major physical and community feature within central Merrimac.

St Michael’s College is also within Merrimac and occupies elevated land near Jondique Avenue. It provides Catholic secondary education from Years 7 to 12. Its hillside position and substantial grounds create another large institutional pocket between established housing and Gooding Drive.

Star of the Sea School provides Catholic primary education within Merrimac and has a comparatively contemporary campus around the Ghilgai Road side. Its location places it close to several of the suburb’s townhouse communities and adds another school-day focus to an area already characterised by relatively compact housing.

All Saints Anglican School occupies one of Merrimac’s largest individual campuses. The independent school provides Prep to Year 12 education and includes extensive sporting and landscaped grounds. Residential streets around Highfield Drive and Calwell Court therefore have a very different immediate outlook from houses enclosed entirely by neighbouring residential lots.

Merrimac State High School is not within Merrimac. The government secondary school carrying the suburb’s name is located in Mermaid Waters. This distinction is particularly relevant because the presence of several other schools within Merrimac can make the boundary relationship easy to misread. Government secondary catchment eligibility should be checked for the individual residential address.

Lakelands Drive creates the suburb’s most individual detached-house market. It extends into the landscaped grounds of Lakelands Golf Club and contains a gated residential enclave where houses directly address fairways, lakes and course vegetation. The physical environment is markedly different from Merrimac’s conventional house streets because golf land rather than neighbouring backyards forms the outlook behind many residences.

Housing through Lakelands Drive is predominantly substantial and contemporary, with much of the residential development associated with the 2000s. Two-storey homes are common, and floor plans frequently provide four or five bedrooms, multiple living areas and generous garaging. Pools and large covered entertaining spaces are also strongly represented, often positioned to take advantage of golf-course or lake views.

Land size varies widely within the enclave. Sites close to 500 square metres support large houses with relatively concentrated outdoor space, while holdings around 650 to 1,000 square metres provide more substantial gardens, pools and setbacks. The difference between these properties is therefore not simply house size but the amount of private land remaining around homes that can themselves be very large.

Orientation also matters more than on a conventional internal street. Some houses face directly across fairways, others overlook lakes or landscaped course boundaries, and individual positions can differ considerably in privacy and outlook. These relationships with the course form a substantial part of the property character rather than serving merely as a nearby recreational amenity.

Lakelands Golf Club itself occupies a large part of eastern Merrimac and is one of the suburb’s defining land uses. The course, clubhouse and driving-range environment preserve broad open views between Merrimac and adjoining central Gold Coast neighbourhoods. This helps Merrimac retain pockets of extensive green land despite being surrounded by established urban development.

The suburb’s smaller commercial activity is concentrated mainly around Gooding Drive. Merridown Shopping Centre provides neighbourhood retail, while food, service and hospitality businesses are distributed around the principal road intersections. Merrimac does not contain a major regional shopping centre, which leaves its internal residential streets largely free of large-scale retail activity.

Robina Town Centre provides the most significant nearby shopping destination and also places major professional services, dining and entertainment within easy road reach. Q Super Centre in Mermaid Waters offers another large concentration of everyday retail to the east, while Pacific Fair and Broadbeach provide a much broader coastal shopping and entertainment precinct farther beyond.

Robina is also important for healthcare and employment. Robina Hospital, Robina Private Hospital, the wider Robina commercial centre and the railway station are all nearby, while Carrara provides sporting, event and commercial destinations to the north. Merrimac consequently sits between several major activity centres rather than developing one large commercial core of its own.

Public open space is woven through the suburb in several forms. Stoner Family Park provides a conventional neighbourhood park, smaller reserves appear between residential streets, and broad drainage and wetland corridors retain open land through lower parts of Merrimac. School grounds and Lakelands Golf Club add much larger green spaces that are visually important even where public access is limited by their institutional or sporting use.

The legacy of Merrimac’s wetland landscape remains relevant to the physical form of the suburb. Lower land, drainage channels, lakes and open-space corridors occur between residential pockets, while individual streets sit on slightly different levels. Flood and drainage conditions therefore vary between properties and are better established from current official mapping for the individual site rather than applied as one description to Merrimac as a whole.

Planning and redevelopment also need to be understood through the existing neighbourhood. Large established detached-house blocks occur beside highly concentrated townhouse precincts and major institutional land, but total land area alone does not establish redevelopment capacity. Existing zoning, access, drainage, overlays and the surrounding development pattern all influence individual sites.

Merrimac’s strongest property characteristic is ultimately the number of distinct housing forms contained within a small central suburb. Merridown Drive offers established family houses with larger gardens. Highfield Drive and Scotia Place provide compact early-1990s detached housing. Entry Drive and Felix Court add later 2000s homes, Ghilgai Road and Bourton Road contain extensive townhouse stock, Macadie Way includes larger attached homes, and Lakelands Drive provides substantial golf-course residences. These differences are pronounced enough that the immediate street and development type tell a prospective owner considerably more than a suburb-wide description alone.

Lifestyle

Merrimac has a practical, residential character shaped by schools, parks, golf and its central position between Robina, Carrara and the coastal side of the Gold Coast. It does not revolve around one shopping strip or entertainment precinct. Daily routines instead differ between the established Merridown neighbourhood, the school-rich streets around Gooding Drive, the townhouse pockets around Ghilgai Road and Bourton Road and the landscaped environment of Lakelands Drive.

Merridown Drive has one of the suburb’s most recognisable neighbourhood routines. Established houses, mature gardens and useful private yards sit close to Stoner Family Park and local shops, allowing residents to combine conventional suburban home life with some amenities within walking distance. Pools, sheds and covered outdoor areas are common enough that recreation frequently centres on the property as well as nearby public space.

Stoner Family Park adds a substantial green area within the residential streets and supports playground use, exercise and informal recreation. Its position within the neighbourhood gives the surrounding homes an everyday park relationship quite different from properties beside the large institutional grounds or golf course elsewhere in Merrimac.

The Highfield Drive side has a stronger school influence. All Saints Anglican School occupies extensive grounds nearby, while smaller detached blocks and established early-1990s houses give the surrounding streets a more compact residential feel. The large school campus introduces broad landscaped and sporting areas into what would otherwise be a tightly developed suburban pocket.

Gooding Drive is the busiest part of everyday Merrimac. Merrimac State School, St Michael’s College, local shops, food businesses and bus stops are distributed along or close to the corridor, and school-day activity is a visible part of the local rhythm. Internal courts and residential loops quickly become quieter once removed from the main road.

The number of schools within Merrimac is one of its defining community characteristics. Government primary, Catholic primary, Catholic secondary and independent Prep to Year 12 education are all represented within the suburb. Families can therefore have schools very close geographically, although enrolment requirements and individual school choice remain separate matters.

The Ghilgai Road and Bourton Road neighbourhood has a denser residential character than Merridown Drive. Townhouse communities place more homes within a compact area, with private courtyards and shared internal streets replacing the broad gardens of older detached blocks. Star of the Sea School and bus services add to the stronger pedestrian and school-day activity around this part of Merrimac.

Entry Drive and Felix Court feel more like later suburban development. Detached homes make intensive use of smaller sites, and private outdoor space is generally concentrated around patios, pools and compact gardens rather than broad lawns. The streets remain low rise and residential while offering a noticeably different house-to-land relationship from the older Merridown area.

Lakelands Drive provides another lifestyle altogether. Houses open toward fairways, lakes and broad areas of landscaped golf-course land, giving suitable properties a much more open outlook than conventional suburban streets. The setting is green and highly planned, with the golf course itself forming a substantial part of the immediate landscape.

For golf, Lakelands Golf Club is a major local facility rather than simply a nearby course. Its fairways, clubhouse and practice areas occupy a large eastern part of the suburb, and the residential enclave is directly integrated with that landscape. Even residents outside Lakelands benefit visually from the extensive open land that the course preserves within central Merrimac.

Shopping is generally practical rather than destination-oriented within the suburb. Merridown Shopping Centre handles some local needs, while small businesses around Gooding Drive provide additional food and services. Larger weekly shopping and more extensive dining are commonly handled in Robina, Mermaid Waters or the surrounding central Gold Coast centres.

Robina has a particularly strong influence on Merrimac life. Robina Town Centre, hospital services, professional employment, sporting venues and the railway station are all close by, making the suburb practical for households whose daily routines are centred on Robina without placing them inside its denser commercial and apartment precincts.

Broadbeach and the coast remain readily accessible but are not part of Merrimac’s immediate streetscape. Pacific Fair, dining, beaches and entertainment can be reached to the east, while Merrimac itself retains an inland suburban environment of detached houses, townhouses, schools and green space.

The Pacific Motorway also gives the suburb a strong regional relationship. Homes remain only a short local journey from the motorway, while internal streets can feel removed from the scale of the regional transport corridor. This combination is particularly noticeable around Merridown Drive and the eastern residential pockets, where cul-de-sacs and mature gardens sit relatively close to major roads.

Walking works best within individual pockets rather than as one continuous suburb-wide experience. Merridown residents can walk toward local shops and Stoner Family Park, the Gooding Drive area places schools and buses close to surrounding housing, and streets near Ghilgai Road provide access to several education and local-service destinations. Large school campuses, the golf course, drainage land and major roads interrupt direct pedestrian connections between some neighbourhoods.

Merrimac therefore supports several versions of everyday suburban life. Larger established blocks around Merridown Drive provide gardens and private recreation, the Highfield and Entry Drive areas offer more compact detached housing, townhouse precincts create denser ground-oriented neighbourhoods, and Lakelands places substantial homes within a golf-course landscape. What links them is convenient access to schools, Robina, major roads and the wider central Gold Coast.

Travel

Gooding Drive is the principal transport corridor through Merrimac and explains much of the suburb’s accessibility. It runs between the Pacific Motorway and the Carrara side of the central Gold Coast, providing direct movement toward Broadbeach and the coastal road network in one direction and the motorway, Worongary and Mudgeeraba side in the other.

The Pacific Motorway interchange sits close to the western side of Merrimac, making regional road travel particularly straightforward from Merridown Drive, Gooding Drive and surrounding streets. Northbound journeys connect with Nerang, Southport, the northern Gold Coast and Brisbane, while southbound travel leads toward Robina, Varsity Lakes, the southern Gold Coast and the New South Wales border.

Gooding Drive also distributes traffic to the suburb’s schools and residential areas. Merrimac State School and St Michael’s College are close to the corridor, while Ghilgai Road, Jondique Avenue, Bourton Road and other local connections branch into the surrounding neighbourhoods. Traffic is consequently most noticeable around the main road and school approaches rather than throughout every residential street.

Merridown Drive and Jura Parade form an important local loop through the western residential neighbourhood. Bus services operate through this area, giving houses set away from Gooding Drive access to public transport without requiring every trip to begin on the main arterial road.

Highfield Drive and Bourton Road also carry buses through the eastern and southern residential areas. Current services connect Merrimac with Robina and the Broadbeach side of the Gold Coast, serving residential streets as well as the major school precincts. Coverage is strongest near these through-roads, while smaller courts and cul-de-sacs require a walk to the nearest stop.

Robina provides the most important nearby heavy-rail connection. The station sits within the major Robina activity centre and provides Gold Coast line services toward Brisbane and surrounding rail destinations. Road and bus connections make it accessible from Merrimac without requiring residents to travel through the coastal strip.

Broadbeach South provides a major bus and light-rail interchange to the east and is linked with Merrimac by the Gooding Drive and Nerang-Broadbeach Road corridor. This gives residents another useful public transport direction for travel through Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise and the coastal light-rail network.

Road access to Robina is particularly convenient from Merrimac’s southern and western neighbourhoods. Robina Town Centre, the hospital precinct, Cbus Super Stadium and surrounding employment areas can all be reached through the local arterial network, giving the suburb a close practical relationship with one of the Gold Coast’s principal regional centres.

Carrara is similarly accessible to the north and east. Nerang-Broadbeach Road provides connections toward major sporting facilities, commercial areas and Benowa, while continuing east toward Broadbeach. This allows Merrimac households to reach several different employment and recreation districts without relying on one radial route.

Walking conditions vary noticeably by neighbourhood. Merridown Drive has useful access to local shopping and Stoner Family Park, while homes near Gooding Drive can be close to schools and bus stops. The large school grounds, golf course, waterways and arterial roads reduce direct pedestrian permeability between some otherwise nearby streets.

Cycling is most practical along local roads and available shared-path connections, with Merrimac’s generally low relief assisting short local trips. Major roads and motorway approaches create busier sections, so quieter residential routes can provide a very different riding environment from Gooding Drive itself.

The transport character of individual properties consequently changes across Merrimac. Merridown households have particularly direct motorway access, Gooding Drive properties are close to buses and cross-city road connections, Highfield and Bourton Road have useful public transport coverage, and Lakelands Drive is more dependent on its single estate connection. Merrimac’s central location keeps major destinations close, but the street network and surrounding large land uses make exact position important.

Schools & Amenities

Merrimac contains an extensive range of schooling within its suburb boundary. Merrimac State School provides government primary education from Prep to Year 6 and occupies a well-established leafy campus close to Gooding Drive. Current government enrolment eligibility should be checked for the individual residential address where an enrolment management plan or catchment requirements apply.

St Michael’s College is physically located within Merrimac and provides co-educational Catholic secondary education from Years 7 to 12. Its elevated campus and sporting grounds occupy a substantial site near the central residential and Gooding Drive areas.

Star of the Sea School is also within Merrimac and provides Catholic primary education from Prep to Year 6. Its contemporary campus is positioned within the Ghilgai Road side of the suburb, close to several townhouse communities and established residential streets.

All Saints Anglican School occupies a large campus within Merrimac and provides independent co-educational education from Prep to Year 12. Extensive teaching, sporting and landscaped grounds make the school one of the suburb’s largest institutional land uses and a significant influence on the Highfield Drive neighbourhood.

Merrimac State High School is located in neighbouring Mermaid Waters rather than Merrimac despite carrying the Merrimac name. Government secondary enrolment eligibility should therefore be established from the current catchment applying to the individual property rather than from the school name or proximity.

Merridown Shopping Centre provides Merrimac’s principal small neighbourhood retail cluster, with convenience shopping and local services near Gooding Drive and Jura Parade. Additional food and service businesses are distributed around the Gooding Drive corridor, including the long-established Merrimac Tavern.

For larger everyday shopping, Robina Town Centre provides one of the closest major destinations and contains supermarkets, department and specialty retail, dining, entertainment and professional services. Q Super Centre in Mermaid Waters provides another substantial retail option, while Pacific Fair serves as a major regional centre closer to the coast.

Healthcare is concentrated principally in nearby Robina. Robina Hospital and Robina Private Hospital provide major hospital services, while medical centres, specialists and allied-health businesses are distributed through Robina, Mudgeeraba and the surrounding central Gold Coast. Local medical and health services are also available in nearby shopping precincts.

Lakelands Golf Club is one of Merrimac’s defining recreation facilities. The course occupies extensive landscaped land through the eastern side of the suburb and includes a clubhouse and practice facilities. Residential properties along Lakelands Drive are integrated directly with the golf-course environment, while the course also contributes substantial open space to the wider suburb.

Stoner Family Park is a major neighbourhood recreation area within the Merridown Drive pocket. It provides playground and informal recreation space together with facilities for exercise and dog activity, giving the established western neighbourhood a substantial public green area close to homes and local shops.

Other smaller parks and reserves are distributed between residential streets, while drainage corridors and lakes provide additional open space through the lower parts of Merrimac. The four school campuses also preserve extensive sporting and landscaped land, although these operate as education facilities rather than general public parks.

Major sporting and entertainment facilities are nearby in Carrara and Robina. Cbus Super Stadium, the Carrara sporting precinct and other organised recreation venues are within easy road reach, while Broadbeach and the coastal suburbs provide beaches, dining and entertainment farther east.

Public transport is provided by buses through Gooding Drive, Merridown Drive, Highfield Drive and other local corridors, connecting the suburb with Robina and the Broadbeach side of the Gold Coast. Heavy rail is available nearby at Robina, while coastal light rail can be accessed through the Broadbeach interchange and wider network.

Merrimac’s amenities are therefore spread across several distinct areas. Merridown Drive combines established housing with local shopping and Stoner Family Park. Gooding Drive is the main school, service and transport corridor. Ghilgai Road contains Catholic primary education among substantial townhouse housing, Highfield Drive is closely associated with All Saints Anglican School, and Lakelands Drive is shaped by the golf course. Robina and Mermaid Waters then provide the larger shopping, health and regional services that complement Merrimac’s own local facilities.

Local Schools

Merrimac State School
Distance: 0.41 km
State School
Sector: State
Years: Prep Year – Year 6
Students: 600
2 Boowaggan Road, Merrimac
Phone: (07) 5569 1555
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St Michael's College (Merrimac)
Distance: 0.79 km
Non-State School
Sector: Non-State (Catholic)
Years: Year 7 – Year 12
Students: 842
Jondique Avenue, Merrimac
Phone: (07) 5525 4000
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Star of the Sea School (Merrimac)
Distance: 0.88 km
Non-State School
Sector: Non-State (Catholic)
Years: Prep Year – Year 6
Students: 174
16 Ghilgai Road, Merrimac
Phone: (07) 5586 3500
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All Saints Anglican School (Merrimac)
Distance: 2.30 km
Non-State School
Sector: Non-State (Independent)
Years: Prep Year – Year 12
Students: 1,803
Highfield Drive, Merrimac
Phone: (07) 5530 2855
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Arcadia College (Robina)
Distance: 2.92 km
Non-State School
Sector: Non-State (Independent)
Years: Year 7 – Year 12
Students: 518
12 Centreline Place, Robina
Phone: (07) 5655 1800
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Emmanuel College (Carrara)
Distance: 2.96 km
Non-State School
Sector: Non-State (Independent)
Years: Prep Year – Year 12
Students: 1,651
Birmingham Road, Carrara
Phone: (07) 5561 4000
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School Information: Copyright © State of Queensland (Department of Education) 2026. School information is provided for general reference only. Parents and carers should confirm enrolment eligibility, catchment areas, and enrolment requirements directly with the relevant school or education authority, as policies and boundaries may change.

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