'Suntan Man', Gold Coast's famous icon who sprayed holidaymakers with suntan lotion on Surfers Paradise beach for 30 years, became a true bronzed Aussie half a decade after his death.

Al Baldwin, with his trademark of his dark brown leathery skin, died of lymphatic cancer at the age of 74 in 2004.

A bronze sculpture of his cap and beach chair placed at Gold Coast's Maritimo foundry, is in the first stage of a year-long project where the finished work will be installed on the famous beachfront.

Sculptor Frederic Berjot said that the memorial will allow tourists and visitors to sit on the chair and enjoy the same view that Mr Baldwin sit on every day.

You can sit in the chair, looking at the beach in the way he used to see it, making you Al Baldwin in a way. It's more of an interactive and a very clever concept from the beginning.

The work is being done by the Sculptor's Society, and Gold Coast City Council is paying for the cost of the materials being used.

Sue Bowen, who met Mr Baldwin when she was a teenager, said that it will be a joy to be able to go down to the beach and sit in Al's chair again.

The memorial shall be installed next year when the Surfers Paradise foreshore redevelopment is completed by June.

Gold