Nerang Creek Heads and the name
The place was first known as Nerang Creek Heads. Southport took its name from its position as the colony of Queensland's southernmost port. A settlement was surveyed in 1874, and the name was decided the following year. Timber mills operated here, and logs were shipped to Brisbane through a port built for that trade. The cutting of timber made room for people to settle. Sugar growing and grazing livestock were among the early rural industries.
The governor's summer place
In 1879 the first Congregational services in Southport were held in a private home, led by a minister who also served the Logan and Albert River districts. Land in Queen Street was bought, and a Congregational church opened in that street on 9 October 1880. Monthly services were held there, and other denominations could also use the building. A new church was erected in White Street in 1888 at a cost of £530.
In 1883 the first Southport Pier was built so that steamships could bring cargo and passengers to the town. In the 1880s Sir Anthony Musgrave, then Queensland's Governor, and his wife Lady Musgrave made their holiday home at Southport. The residence, called the Summer Place, stood on what is now the site of The Southport School. Their choice made the town Queensland's pre-eminent seaside resort. After the governor died in 1888, the Summer Place remained a holiday home for visitors.
Southport Provisional School opened on 17 February 1880 and became Southport State School on 1 July 1882. St Peter's Anglican Church opened in Nerang Street on 12 June 1887 on land bequeathed to the church, with a shortage of money leaving parts of the design unbuilt. Circa 1900, the church was enlarged, and a new brick church was built in 1959.
Southport took its name from its position as the colony of Queensland's southernmost port.
Rail, ferry and the seaside years
In 1889 the South Coast railway line from Beenleigh to Southport opened, and the line closed in 1964. Before bridges crossed the Nerang River, a ferry run by Johan Meyer carried passengers to Main Beach, and a horse and buggy service linked the town with Surfers Paradise. A concrete jetty replaced the earlier pier structure in 1914.
By 1901 Southport was a well-known tourist seaside spot with many places to stay and a permanent population of 1,230. Visitor numbers grew over the first five decades of the 20th century, including day trippers and excursionists from Brisbane. The Southport School opened in 1901. It started a cadet program in 1906, and at one time it was the largest boarding school in Queensland. St Hilda's School opened in 1912.
In April 1900 the Roman Catholic Church bought a parcel of land on Marine Parade, opposite the pier, for a convent. The Star of the Sea College began as a day school on 21 January 1901, run by the Sisters of Mercy, and about 60 students were enrolled when it opened. Secondary education began there in 1934. The school closed its doors at the end of 1990, and the site was sold; the buildings were demolished in 2016, unearthing a time capsule placed in March 1988.
The Pier Theatre, with a cafe and an indoor golf course, was built on the jetty in 1927. A fire destroyed it in 1932, but it was rebuilt and served the public for nearly forty years. The Southport Surf Life Saving Club was established in 1924 to protect swimmers at present-day Main Beach. The Jubilee Bridge between Southport and Main Beach was built in 1925, replacing the ferry service.
The city centre years
By the 1950s Southport had become the main entertainment centre of the Gold Coast and its administrative centre, with a central business district. The Australian Grand Prix came to the Southport Road Circuit on 7 November 1954, using public roads. The circuit was 5.7 miles long and had two "no-passing" sections where overtaking was impossible because the road was too narrow, and widening was too costly. Two more meetings took place at the track in 1955.
The Sundale Shopping Centre opened on 26 March 1969 on five hectares facing the Broadwater, the site of the Southport Hotel, and it cost $7.5 million. It closed in 1989 after the larger Australia Fair centre opened nearby. Weekly markets ran on the site through the 1990s, and it was demolished in 2003. Meriton Brighton on Broadwater now stands on the land.
A priority development area was declared over Southport's business district in 2013, which formally established the Gold Coast central business district. The city council's own Chinatown opened in the Southport CBD in 2014.
What still stands
Heritage-listed sites include the former Pacific Cable Station buildings within The Southport School, the Southport Bathing Pavilion and the Southport Sea Wall on Marine Parade, the former Southport Town Hall in Nerang Street, and the Southport Drill Hall in Queen Street. The Southport War Memorial at the foot of Nerang Street was dedicated on Anzac Day 1922. Work on the parklands in 2010 required it to be moved, and it was re-dedicated on 11 November 2010.
Timeline
- 1874A settlement at the place was surveyed.
- 1880Southport Provisional School opened on 17 February.
- 1883The first Southport Pier was built for steamships.
- 1887St Peter's Anglican Church opened in Nerang Street.
- 1889The South Coast railway line reached Southport from Beenleigh.
- 1901The population was 1,230, and The Southport School opened.
- 1925The Jubilee Bridge was built between Southport and Main Beach.
- 1954The Southport Road Circuit hosted the Australian Grand Prix on 7 November.
- 2013The business area was declared a priority development area.
Living in Southport
The Nerang River runs along Southport's south-eastern edge and meets The Broadwater, the southern part of Moreton Bay, which forms the suburb's north-eastern boundary. The suburb holds the Gold Coast central business district and has more office space than anywhere else in the city, at 103,818 square metres.
Sites on Marine Parade include the Southport Bathing Pavilion, the Southport Sea Wall, Carey Park and the Broadwater Parklands. The suburb sits apart from the usual tourist hub of the Gold Coast, though tourist-driven development has continued, and 18 high-rise towers in Southport are completed, under construction or waiting to begin.
Questions people ask
- What is the postcode for Southport?
- Southport's postcode is 4215.
- How many people live in Southport?
- In 2021, Southport had 36,786 people.
- What is the median age in Southport?
- The median age in Southport was 37 in 2021.
- Which council area is Southport in?
- Southport is in the City of Gold Coast local government area.
- What is the history of Southport?
- It was known first as Nerang Creek Heads, and the name Southport came from its position as the colony of Queensland's southernmost port. A settlement was surveyed in 1874 and the name was decided the following year. Timber milling and a port came first, and the railway followed in 1889.