Almost 40 years after first admitting his offences, a Gold Coast man has been convicted of sexually abusing a young girl in the late 1970s.

Edward Sawden, 69, was given a wholly suspended two-year prison sentence at the Southport District Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to eight counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16.

Edward Sawdon appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday. Credit:Chris Hyde

Sawden, a surfboard shaper and photographer, who has work on display at the National Potrait Gallery, pleaded guilty to abusing the girl on several occasions between 1977 and 1979.

The ex-competitive surfer admitted to touching and digitally penetrating the girl at several locations including while swimming and in his bed.