In the 1950s the Isle of Capri was one of the first canal estates constructed for waterfront living. Developers have expanded the popular estates ever since. Prior to the eastern inland development of the Varsity Lakes area, Burleigh Waters was the southernmost point of the Gold Coast canal and waterway system. Burleigh Waters developed in Stages, starting in the 1970s. One section, Burleigh Waters Estate was a canal extension developed by Hooker Corporation with partner BMD Group during the late 1970s. The Hooker Corporation collapsed and Mr Power's BMD Group was paid out at 60c in the dollar a few years later. Privately built homes were being constructed by the time Pacific Fair opened in 1977 and continued with the expansion of the suburb. As a result of drainage and land reclamation, Stephens Swamp was eventually replaced by a series of man-made lakes that gives the suburb its name.