Main Beach, Queensland

Last updated

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

Main Beach
Gold Coast,  Queensland
Beach Houses, Main Beach, Queensland 03.JPG
Foreshore beach houses, 2015
Gold Coast locator map.svg
Red pog.svg
Main Beach
Coordinates 27°58′44″S153°25′30″E / 27.9788°S 153.425°E / -27.9788; 153.425 (Main Beach (town centre))
Population3,883 (2016 census) [1]
 • Density563/km2 (1,458/sq mi)
Postcode(s) 4217
Elevation13 m (43 ft)
Area6.9 km2 (2.7 sq mi)
Time zone AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s) City of Gold Coast
State electorate(s) Surfers Paradise
Federal division(s) Moncrieff
Suburbs around Main Beach:
Biggera Waters
Labrador 		South Stradbroke Coral Sea
Southport Main Beach Coral Sea
Southport Surfers Paradise Coral Sea

Main Beach (originally Southport East) is a coastal town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. [2] [3] In the 2016 census, the suburb of Main Beach had a population of 3,883 people. [1]

Contents

Geography

The beach of the Main Beach at low tide Main Beach, Queensland 02.JPG
The beach of the Main Beach at low tide

Historically, the Main Beach area was a narrow strip of coastal sand dunes separating the mouth of the Nerang River ( 27°58′32″S153°25′21″E / 27.9755°S 153.4225°E / -27.9755; 153.4225 (Nerang River (mouth)) ) from the Coral Sea. Narrow Neck formed the southern boundary and to the north was a long sand spit terminated by the bar between the Broadwater and the sea. This created a natural basin for boats at the mouth of the river protected from the sea by the Main Beach area.

As at 2021, the suburb of Main Beach is bounded to the east by the Coral Sea, to the north by the Gold Coast Seaway, to the west by Labrador Channel and South Channel, and Macintosh Island, and to the south by Narrow Neck ( 27°59′11″S153°25′47″E / 27.9865°S 153.4297°E / -27.9865; 153.4297 (Narrow Neck) ). [4]

History

During the early years in which Southport was the urban centre of recreational activity at the coast, visitors were ferried across the Broadwater to surf at the Main Beach so named because it was the main surf beach for the town of Southport.

Until the 1870s and 1880s the only activity in the sand spit at the northern end were limited to facilities associated with the Southport Yacht Club and other maritime activities.

Government sales of allotments Main Beach Southport (with map), 1923 Government sales of allotments Main Beach Southport (with map), 1923.jpg
Government sales of allotments Main Beach Southport (with map), 1923

The construction of the Jubilee Bridge led to land sales in the area. The Queensland Government surveyed 252 blocks of land for perpetual land leases which it sold in stages from December 1922. [5] [6] The area became more popular following the opening of the bridge in 1926, when land was purchased and holiday houses were constructed. Some guest houses were also constructed but little or no permanent population was located in the area. Some evidence remains of the area's early popularity as a surfing beach in the beachfront planting and the kiosk and shelter shed from 1934.

In the 1950s, reclamation of the Nerang River to the west of the earlier subdivision created the area centred on Tedder Avenue. A different subdivision pattern in that portion of Main Beach is the result.

The construction of the Sundale Bridge and the deviation of highway to the west of Main Beach took place in the late 1960s.

Similarly the land to the north of the early subdivision – the sand spit that formed one bank of the bar – was only recently developed. Its use is still limited to resort hotels and theme parks now occupy the land. Revegetation of the Southport Spit followed the construction of the Gold Coast Seaway and gives particular character to this area and acts to link the more intensively developed area to the south with the open areas of the Broadwater and Southern Moreton Bay.

Main Beach property has developed as a high rise area only relatively recently and is focused on the eTedder Avenue which features restaurants, cafes, and boutiques. It has a sense of more permanent residential neighbourhood than other parts of the high-rise coastal strip. Most of the apartment buildings along the foreshore are more modest in scale. The isthmus at Narrowneck acts as a natural barrier to the more intensively developed area to the south.

View north to Southport and Gold Coast Broadwater, 2007 GoldCoastDawn.jpg
View north to Southport and Gold Coast Broadwater, 2007

The Gold Coast Oceanway travels on the seaward side of the Southport SLSC but then diverts inland to travel behind beachfront houses of Main Beach down to Narrowneck. Some local residents would like a new Oceanway pavement constructed along the road reserve between the beachfront houses and the dune area.

A large number of Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla), a conifer that is not native to the area, have been planted on the Main Beach foreshore.

On 1 September 1967, the town of Southport East was officially renamed Main Beach. [2]

At the 2011 census, the suburb of Main Beach had a population of 3,496 people. [7]

In the 2016 census, the suburb of Main Beach had a population of 3,883 people. 59.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 5.6% and England 5.3%. 75.6% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 26.9%, Catholic 23.3% and Anglican 18.1%. [1]

Heritage listings

Main Beach logo Main Beach logo.jpg
Main Beach logo

Main Beach has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast, Queensland</span> Australian coastal city

The Gold Coast is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nation's largest non-capital city, and Queensland's second-largest city after Brisbane. The city's central business district is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport, with the suburb holding more corporate office space than anywhere else in the city. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast sprawling almost 60 kilometers, joining up with the Greater Brisbane Metropolitan Area to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfers Paradise, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Surfers Paradise is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 26,412 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadbeach, Queensland</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Broadbeach had a population of 6,786 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Currumbin, Queensland</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Currumbin is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Currumbin had a population of 2,920 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm Beach, Queensland</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Palm Beach is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Palm Beach had a population of 14,654 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southport, Queensland</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Southport is a coastal town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It contains the Gold Coast central business district. In the 2021 census, Southport had a population of 36,786 people.

The Gold Coast Oceanway is a foreshoreway for use by pedestrians and cyclists along the Gold Coast, Queensland, connecting the Point Danger lighthouse on the New South Wales and Queensland border to the Gold Coast Seaway. The network includes 36 kilometres (22 mi) of poor, medium, and high-quality pathways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast Seaway</span>

The Gold Coast Seaway or Southport Seaway is the main navigation entrance from the Pacific Ocean into the Gold Coast Broadwater and southern Moreton Bay and is one of Australia's most significant coastal engineering projects. It is located at the northern end of the Southport Spit where the Nerang River enters the Pacific Ocean. The channel was constructed between 1984 and 1986, primarily to facilitate the safe passage of sea-faring vessels. The passage was previously known as the Southport Bar. The mouth of the Nerang River was once located further south in Broadbeach. The main driving force for this movement is the northward drift of sand along the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast Broadwater</span>

The Gold Coast Broadwater, also known as Southport Broadwater, Gold Coast Harbour and The Broadwater, is a large shallow estuary of water located in the Gold Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The estuary reaches from the locality of Southport in the south, to the southern section of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Moreton Bay in the north. Separated via the Seaway from the Coral Sea by a thin strip of land called Stradbroke Island, the original body of water was a lagoon created from water deposited from the Nerang River. Part of the Broadwater is contained within the Moreton Bay Marine Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southport Spit</span>

The Southport Spit is a spit and neighbourhood within the northern end of Main Beach, City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a permanent sand spit that separates the Southport Broadwater from the Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mermaid Beach, Queensland</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Mermaid Beach is a coastal suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Mermaid Beach had a population of 7,329.

The Gold Coast Shoreline Management Plan (GCSMP) is an ICZM plan to manage the coastal resources of City of Gold Coast. The EPA encourages the City Council's to produce shoreline management plans for coastlines and tidal waterways within the local authority area.

Narrow Neck is the name of an isthmus that separates the anabranch of the Nerang River from the Coral Sea in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is also the boundary between the southern end of the suburb of Main Beach and the northern end of the suburb of Surfers Paradise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferry Road, Gold Coast</span>

Ferry Road is a road in Southport, on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Originally a suburban street, it is now part of Southport – Burleigh Road, a state controlled road

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavill Avenue</span> Street in Surfers Paradise, Queensland

Cavill Avenue is a street and a pedestrian mall in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is in the heart of the Surfers Paradise shopping and entertainment district. It was named in honour of the man credited as the founder of Surfers Paradise, James Cavill, known as Jim Cavill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Town of Southport</span>

The Town of Southport was a local government area in South East Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southport Bathing Pavilion</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Southport Bathing Pavilion is a heritage-listed changing rooms at Marine Parade, Southport, Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hall & Phillips and built in 1934 by A. Ledbury. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.

Humphreys Boat Shed was a heritage-listed workshop and slipway at Seaworld Drive, Main Beach, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 August 2001, but was removed in June 2015 having been destroyed. However the remnants of the boat shed and slipway are listed on the Gold Coast Local Heritage Register. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast central business district</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

The Gold Coast central business district (CBD) is the planned main commercial centre of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The area encompasses an eastern portion of the Southport suburb. Its north–south axis runs from North Street in the north to Brighton Parade in the south. Its east–west axis runs from Broadwater in the east to the High Street in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevron Island</span>

The Chevron Island is an urban island that lies in the Nerang River and is a neighbourhood within the suburb of Surfers Paradise in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Main Beach (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. 1 2 "Main Beach – town in City of Gold Coast (entry 43132)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Main Beach – suburb in City of Gold Coast (entry 46540)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Narrow Neck – isthmus in the City of Gold Coast (entry 23901)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "MAIN BEACH ALLOTMENTS". The Queenslander . No. 2947. Queensland, Australia. 24 February 1923. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2020– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Government sale of allotments, Main Beach, Southport" (Cadastral map). Queensland Government. 1923. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Main Beach (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 September 2015. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  8. ↑ "Main Beach Pavilion and Southport Surf Lifesaving Club (entry 601265)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  9. ↑ Gold Coast Local Heritage Register - A to M, pp. 71-72
  10. ↑ "Southport Cable Hut (former) (entry 602611)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  11. ↑ Gold Coast Local Heritage Register - N to Z, pp. 121-122
  12. ↑ "Humphreys Boat Shed & Slipway (entry 602324)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Gold Coast Local Heritage Register - A to M, pp. 57-58

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.