Southport is the most populous suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It contains the Gold Coast central business district. In the , Southport had a population of 36,786 people.
Geography Southport is bounded to the south-east by the Nerang River (), where it flows into The Broadwater, the southernmost end of Moreton Bay, which then bounds the suburb to the north-east.
King Reach is a reach () of the Nerang River. It was named in honour of Jeremy King (3 March 1935 – 13 October 2010) for his coaching, involvement and dedication to the sport of rowing within the Southport district. He was involved with rowing for over 50 years. It was gazetted on 28 November 2014.
Ray Newlyn Channel is a channel () in The Broadwater. It is an east-to-west channel across The Broadwater to Main Beach avoiding two large sandbanks. Raymond Paul (Ray) Newlyn was a Southport resident and a Commander in the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association; he died on 18 October 1997, it was gazetted on 11 January 2002.
Musgrave Hill is a neighbourhood () in western Southport. It was gazetted on 13 November 1982.
History Originally known as Nerang Creek Heads, it was named Southport because it was the southernmost port of the colony of Queensland.Southport History . Gold Coast City Council. Retrieved on 17 January 2013.
A settlement was first surveyed in 1874 and the name Southport decided the following year. Southport was once the site of timber mills. A port was established to ship logs to Brisbane. Cutting timber opened up the area for settlement. Early rural industries included sugar growing and livestock grazing.
Southport Provisional School opened on 17 February 1880. On 1 July 1882, it became Southport State School.
In 1879, the first Congregational services were held in Southport in the home of J. C. Lather conducted by the Reverend J. Whiting who ministered in the Logan and Albert River districts. Land was purchased in Queen Street and a Congregational church was opened there on 9 October 1880. It was used for monthly Congregational services but was also available for use by other denominations. The first minister, Reverend A.R. Bailey was appointed in 1883. A manse was built in Bauer Street. J.B. Evans was the minister from late 1885, being replaced by J. G. Cribb in 1887. In 1888 a new Congregational Church was erected in White Street costing £530 and based on the designs prepared for the Milton Congregational Church in Brisbane. In 1899, the manse was relocated to behind the White Street church.
In 1883, the first Southport Pier was built to allow steamships to bring cargo and passengers to Southport. In the 1880s, Southport became the chosen site for the holiday residence of the Queensland Governor Sir Anthony Musgrave and his wife Lady Musgrave. Known as the Summer Place and still situated on the present day site of The Southport School, the choice of Southport as the preferred holiday destination for one of the most prominent couples in Queensland established the township as Queensland's pre-eminent seaside resort. Following the death of the governor in 1888, the Summer Place continued to be a holiday home for visitors to the area.
On Sunday 12 June 1887, Bishop William Webber officially opened St Peter's Anglican Church in Nerang Street on a site bequeathed to the church by Mr Pardoe. The plans for the church were supplied for free by architectal firm Banks and Carandini. However, a shortage of money prevented the design being fully built with many aspects incomplete at the time of the opening. The church was at 87 Nerang Street. Circa 1900, the church was enlarged. In 1959, a new brick church (the current church) was built, with the old church being relocated to Gilston and converted into a house.
In 1889, the South Coast railway from Beenleigh to Southport opened. The line was closed in 1964.Southport Station in the Later Years Milne, Rod Australian Railway History, April 2004 pp 142–148 After the arrival of the rail and prior to the construction of vehicular or pedestrian bridges across the Nerang River, a ferry service run by Johan Meyer ferried passengers to Main Beach, Queensland and a horse and buggy service linked the area to Surfers Paradise.
In April 1900, the Roman Catholic Church purchased a parcel of land for a convent on Marine Parade opposite the pier (). The Star of the Sea College opened as day school on 21 January 1901. Operated by the Sisters of Mercy, there were about 60 students enrolled on the opening day. In 1934, the school commenced offering secondary school education. The school closed at the end of 1990 with the girls transferring to Aquinas Catholic College (previously a boys-only school). The site was sold with buildings being demolished in 2016. The demolition unearthed a time capsule placed in March 1988 as part of the Australian bicentenary celebrations.
The Southport School opened in 1901. It established its military cadet program in 1906. It was once the largest boarding school in Queensland.
Guardian Angels' School opened on 1 January 1901.By 1901 (Federation), Southport was well established as a tourist seaside spot with numerous accommodation options and a permanent population of 1,230. Tourism continued to expand in the first half of the 20th century with Southport maintaining its role as a seaside resort and a popular destination for day trippers and excursionists travelling from Brisbane.
St Hilda's School opened in 1912.
A concrete jetty was built in 1914 to replace the earlier structure. In 1927, the Pier Theatre which included a cafe and indoor golf course was built on the jetty. A fire destroyed the structure in 1932 but it was rebuilt and open to the public for nearly forty years.
In 1915, 163 allotments of "Pacific Ocean Estate" were advertised to be auctioned on 5 April 1915 (Easter Monday) by Newman and Dawber auctioneers. A map advertising the auction states the Estate was 2 miles from Southport Railway station, and near Southport High School.
The construction of the Jubilee Bridge in 1925 between Southport and Main Beach replaced the ferry service and facilitated further growth.
On 25 April 1922 (ANZAC Day), Southport War Memorial located at the foot of Nerang Street was dedicated by the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Albert, John Appel, in the presence of many Southport people. In 2010, renovation of the parklands required the relocation of the memorial; it was re-dedicated on 11 November 2010.
In 1924, the Southport Surf Life Saving Club was established to protect swimmers at present-day Main Beach.
By the 1950s, Southport was the central entertainment location of the Gold Coast. It was also the administrative centre, with a central business district.
The 1954 Australian Grand Prix was held at the Southport Road Circuitwwww.progcovers.com Retrieved 7 February 2022 on 7 November, using a circuit made up of public roads. The circuit was 5.7 miles in length, and there were two "no-passing" sections, where the road surface was too narrow for overtaking and too expensive to widen. The Grand Prix was won by Lex Davison in a HWM-Jaguar, ahead of Curly Brydon in an MG TC and Ken Richardson in a Ford V8 Special. Only two more meetings were held at the track – the Queensland Racing Car Championship in October 1955, and a motorcycle meeting in the same year.
Southport State High School opened on 24 January 1955. Prior to its opening, a secondary department had operated at Southport State School.
Circa 1958, All Saints' Anglican Church opened in the Chirn Park neighbourhood. Its closure on 2 November 1997 was approved by Assistant Bishop Williams. The church building was relocated to become the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd in Mudgeeraba.
Gold Coast Opportunity School opened in 1962. It was replaced by the Southport Special School which opened on 1 January 1970. On 1 January 2003 it was The Kumbari Avenue School. On 19 September 2008 the name reverted to Southport Special School.
Musgrave Hill State School opened on 29 January 1963.
Aquinas Catholic College opened on 25 January 1964.
The Sundale Shopping Centre, which opened on 26 March 1969, was the first of its kind on the Gold Coast costing a record $7.5 million but closed in 1989 after the larger Australia Fair shopping centre opened nearby. It was located on of prime real estate facing the Broadwater which was previously the site of the popular Southport Hotel which was originally constructed in 1876. As well as providing panoramic views of the Nerang River from the upper floor, it was home to Queensland's first Big W department store as well as a cinema, restaurants, 45 speciality stores and a 7,000-vehicle car park. It was proposed as a location for the building of the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Such a development would have rejuvenated the old administrative centre of the Gold Coast. However, it lost its bid to Broadbeach, in part because of a lack of tourist accommodation in Southport. The site hosted weekly markets throughout the 1990s for several years after its closure, until its eventual demolition in 2003, at which time a time capsule was buried where the popular mall once stood. The area is now home to the Meriton Brighton on Broadwater development, a mix of high and low-rise buildings together with trendy eateries and some retail outlets. In more recent years another a time capsule was discovered on the Sundale site which was buried in 1969 when the mall was originally constructed. It was originally meant to be opened in the 2000s and was filled with notes and items which were meant to predict what the 21st century would be like. It is now located in the Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library.
Keebra Park State High School opened on 30 January 1973.
Keebra Park Special School opened on 24 January 1983. It closed on 13 December 1991.
Bellevue Park State School opened on 24 January 1983. It is now within the neighbouring suburb of Ashmore.
Queensland Academy for Health Sciences opened on 1 January 2008.
In 2013, the business area of Southport was declared a priority development area, officially creating the Gold Coast central business district. In 2014, the Gold Coast City Council opened its own Chinatown in the Southport CBD.
A community of homeless people or "tent city" developed at Carey Park from 2023, and after eviction in May 2025 many people relocated to Eleanor Perkins Park. Police and council officers have since issued move-on notices to at least 10 individuals there.
Demographics In the , Southport had a population of 31,908 people, 51.3% female and 48.7% male. The median/average age of the Southport population is 37 years of age, 1 year below the Australian average. 52.6% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were New Zealand 6.7%, China 4.1%, England 4.0%, South Korea 3.1% and Japan 1.9%. 65.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 4.9%, Korean 3.3%, Japanese 2.3%, Cantonese 1.1% and Arabic 0.9%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 34.5% and Catholic 18.4%. Southport is a populous and ethnically diverse suburb. Its communities of Filipino Australians (624 people; 2.0%), French Australians (277 people; 0.9%); Polish Australians (205 people; 0.6%); Russian Australians (190 people; 0.6%), Croatian Australians (160 people; 0.5%), and Hungarian Australians (152 people; 0.5%) are the largest of any suburb in Queensland.
In the , Southport had a population of 36,786 people.
Economy