Holiday Of A Lifetime

Just three years after the first land sales, Southport's first hotel was built - named, appropriately enough, the Southport Hotel.

Established for largely for intrepid holiday makers as well as cedar-getters and farmers who used Southport as a base to transport their wares throughout the Queensland colony, the Southport Hotel stood near the mouth of the Nerang River as it emptied into the Broadwater.

Of course by 1954 the Hotel had changed a bit.

Indeed freshly remodelled, according to this colour ad which appeared in The Courier-Mail 1954 Queensland Annual.

Of course - stop me if you've heard this one before - it's no longer there.

The Southport Hotel was demolished in 1967 for the construction of the city's first fully undercover, air-conditioned shopping centre called Sundale which opened in March 1969.

And in turn, it was demolished in 2003 to make way for a residential high rise.

I give it 40 years.

He Sells Sea Worlds By The Sea Shore

This is a combined Sunday Drive and Monday Matchbook telling the story of Sea World, a Gold Coast international attraction that combines typical theme park sights with serious marine biology.

It is also the story of the Gold Coast combining entrepreneurship as well as some cut-throat business dealings.

The story goes back to 1958 when a young brash businessman Keith Williams turned his water skiing talent into a business on a reach of the Nerang River at the suburb of Cararra. The Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens (in reality located about 10km out of Surfers) became a popular attraction and a television favourite.

In ten years the show had outgrown its location and Williams cast his eye eastwards to the Southport Spit which had just become home to a dolphin show attraction called Marineland.

In 1971 the ski show moved to a purpose built lake and stadium built on the Spit and the two neighbouring attractions became head-to-head rivals one year later as Williams added dolphins and sea lions in direct competition to Marineland.

Marineland didn't survive and Williams transferred Marineland's remaining animals to his Sea World in 1976. Marineland was eventually demolished and the 5-star Sheraton Mirage built in its place.

Funnily enough Sea World has long outgrown the ski show as its main draw card, instead, it is just one of a day's worth of things to see with your entry ticket.

For two generations Sea World has always been there and locals and tourists alike take The Spit for granted forgetting that this peninsula was once a mere flimsy sandy barrier between the Pacific Ocean and Southport.

As a comparison take a look at these last two pictures. The above left is Seaworld in 1976 (Picture from the Gold Coast Local Studies Library) and at right is a contemporary aerial shot.

All The Fun Of The Fair

We're rather spoiled here on the Gold Coast, we have many fine attractions - both natural and man-made - right on our door step.

But back before there were theme parks with thrill rides, people had to wait a whole year for the Show to come to town.

This week Brisbane plays host to its Royal Show and Exhibition, more popularly known as The Ekka. In a time honoured tradition, farmers bring the best of their livestock and produce to town for competition and demonstrating to city kids that milk doesn't just come from a bottle.

Of course that was only part of the fun. There was also sideshow alley with games, rides and carnival treats such as fairy floss, show bags and dagwood dogs (scroll down for pictures and a charming description).

For another group of people The Ekka is just one of a long line of standing appointments. Within two weeks of the show closing, carnival travels south to set up for the Gold Coast Show (this year held on August 30 to September 1).

Founded in 1906, the Southport Show, as it was originally called, attracted visitors who were were already in the region as well as locals who enjoyed the fun of the fair as well as the challenge of competition in everything from agriculture and animal husbandry to needle work and athletics.

This week's Sunday drive is actually a trip back in time to the 1910 Southport Show and select advertisements from the Southport Show souvenir.

(Apologies for the quality it is only a photocopy. The original is held by the Gold Coast Historical Society.)

And with all these people coming to town - they would need somewhere to stay. So how about at the most modern hotel in Southport - the Hotel Cecil on the corner of Nerang and Scarborough Streets built in 1908?


Here's a better image of the hotel (at right).


But as with everything on the Gold Coast nothing stays the same for long. The original Cecil Hotel was destroyed by fire and a more modern Art Deco public house (at left) was built in its place.

That at least stands untouched by time and the developer's bulldozer.

For now.

The Cecil Hotel is for sale (click for a slide show of the site as it stands today).

Woolworths has a long term lease to run the hotel, but as the sales page helpfully notes the area is also zoned for a "40 level height limit and 1 bed per 13sqm net site area".

While the expression of interest has long expired there has been no word as to whether it has a new owner or whether another local landmark will disappear.

A Seaside Gem

It wasn't until starting on Nifty Knick Knacks did Nora come to appreciate why one of the oldest settlements on the Gold Coast, Southport, has nothing remaining of its 19th century past.

While Southport quickly found its reputation as a resort town in the early 20th Century, one of its main businesses was to process and ship out the cedar that grew in abundance in the Gold Coast Hinterland, about 15 miles inland.

The majority of the houses and businesses in Southport were made of that timber but were rapidly superseded by more robust brick structures in the 1920s and 30s - such as the Southport Town Hall.

While the early pioneers of the township are merely remembered in the form of street names, living history still does exist at Birkbeck Jewellers located in the heart of town in Nerang Street.

Established in 1912 by Vic Birkbeck before the First World War cast an irrevocable shadow, across Southport as the Great War did across all of Australia's townships, the store still remains in the street and is now run by Vic's grandson Michael Ford.

Then as now, Birkbecks sold giftware like this Shelley porcelain candy dish complete with product serial number and additional stamp "Made In England EXPRESSLY for VR Birkbeck Southport QLD". Note: the fish salt and pepper shakers baring the same print aren't Shelley. Nora doesn't know what they are, except gloriously kitschy.

The view at the front looks south, quite possibly from the end of Nerang Street, to take in the Broadwater foreshore down over the Jubilee Bridge and over to Main Beach.

Here's a photograph from the Gold Coast City Council's Local Studies Library of the original view (with a few more cars and extraneous buildings that were removed in the souvenir).

It registration number dates the candy dish to between 1925 and 1945 but judging by the souvenir image this dish is more likely to be from the first part of the period.

Here the view down the Esplanade (now known as the Gold Coast Highway) as it is today. Traffic now moves over the Gold Coast Bridge (locally known as the Sundale Bridge) towards the high rise holiday towers of Surfers Paradise.

Pro Bono Publico

At the same time as Southport visitors were enjoying the amenity of the, um, amenities, Brisbane architects TR Hall and Phillips were busy making sure that the seaside township had a suitable public building.

Located on the corner of Nerang and Davenport Streets, about two blocks away from the Southport Bathing Pavilions, The Southport Town Council building (built between 1934-35) is a delightful example of up-to-the minute modern Art Deco design - just the thing for such a young, go-ahead area.

And such a young, go-ahead area, Southport is, it's somewhat ironic that today this building is one of the oldest still standing in Southport.

The only thing which has changed is an alteration to the exterior paint colour. The architectural mouldings are today picked out in shades of blue.

Hall and Phillips were responsible for a number of public buildings between the Wars and just into the post-War period including the Mater Hospital in Brisbane, Gayndah Shire Hall, the Dalby Town Council Chambers.


But alas, unlike the buildings mentioned, Hall and Phillips Architects didn't stand the test of time and it would seem the company, founded by Thomas Ramsay Hall (1873-1950) didn't survive his death.

Interest in architecture was no doubt instilled by father John Hall, as both TR and his older step brother Francis Richard Hall both stepped into the industry.

Both sons also died of cardio-vascular disease, quite possibly something else they inherited from their father.

But back to the Southport Town Hall, which was opened on 2 August, 1935 with all the fanfare one might imagine on such a grand occasion - even attended by William Forgan Smith the Premier of Queensland and possibly the entire resident population of Southport judging by this picture.

According to the catalogue information provided by Picture Australia the opening seemed to be somewhat of a laid back affair:

The picture shows the Premier addressing the crowd with his hands resting casually in the pockets of a light coloured overcoat. Standing with the Premier are the council's finance committee chairman, Ald W Waters, Deputy Mayor, Alderman J W Proud, Town clerk, R B Lather, areas MHR Mr Jas Francis and Mr T Nimmo MLA.

Bathing Belle

In the 1920s Southport was place to be for the leading lights of Queensland's capital, Brisbane to come for a seaside dip.

It in fact had been since the 1880s when the railway made the 70km journey more palatable. Indeed, Queensland's Governor had a house in Southport.

So popular was the town of Southport, proving to be a 'hot spot' for property investors that they flocked to Brisbane to bid on parcels of land for sale in the uninspiringly (but accurately) named Railway Station Estate, when living near the railway was seen as a winning feature (except on wash days).

But in the early 1930s it was point out that a lack of, ahem, shall we say 'conveniences' was hampering Southport's reputation as a top holiday spot:

The development of the Esplanade included tree-planting schemes, the addition of various side-show amusements and the construction of a picture theatre on the Southport Pier.

It was as part of the scheme of beautification at Southport that two bathing pavilions were erected, one on Main Beach and the other smaller building, the Southport Bathing Pavilion on the Esplanade (pictured) close to the railway station. The two buildings were opened on the 20th December, 1934 by the Minister for Works, Mr H.A. Bruce.

During a speech at the ceremony, mention was made of Southport being primarily dependant on visitors, and if something was not done for their comfort and convenience (Southport) would lose them. A newspaper report described the design of the buildings as Spanish.

The first picture is the pavilion as it stands today, on the Broadwater side of Marine Parade between Nind and Railway Streets.

Instead of being swamped by bathers, this lovely building is marooned in a park with the busy four lane Marine Parade at its front door and 400 metres of grassed park to its rear.

But we know from previous Sunday Drives that it wasn't forever thus.

Sadly time marched on for Southport, subsumed in 1949 as part of the larger South Coast Council, then officially remained The City of the Gold Coast.

Visitors have marched on too, now preferring the rough and tumble of the ocean breakers they find just another five minute's drive away.

The pavilion has stood the test of time well although its new role is equipment storage. But it's been heritage listed and so will always remain in the good care of the Gold Coast City Council.

And the tree planting scheme mentioned in the article - boy did it work. The large dominating tree is likely to be a Moreton Bay fig - a large and vigorous shade tree.

How vigorous?

Well, see the little plant protected by the barricades on the left of the front doors?

Well it's not enough to shade the sleeping man seen on the far left edge of the shot, but go back to the contemporary images. In 73 years time, it's big enough to dominate the pavilion itself and robust enough for his great grandchildren to climb.

Now that's history.

Ships Ahoy!

As one might expect living in such a delightful part of the world as Southport, Queensland, Australia, aquatic pursuits such as yachting are high the agenda.

Today the Gold Coast boats (sorry, boasts) a thriving marine industry, which has settled a little further north than Southport in the suburb of Coomera.

When this trio of souvenir cup, saucer and plate was manufactured and sold, most likely in the 1950s, there was no marine precinct, only a school of trawlers and the Southport Yacht Club, established in 1946.

Protected from the Pacific Ocean by a small spit of land formed at the mouth of the Nerang River (check the photos from last week's Sunday Drive), the Southport Boat Basin, where the Southport Yacht Club now sits, became the natural spot to drop anchor.

Unfortunately it's been difficult to get a clean photograph of the transfer print image but in addition to its foreground of boats is the 1925-1967 Jubilee Bridge in the background.

The aerial photograph below, taken in the 1950s, illustrates the location (which is oriented to the north west), although the Jubilee Bridge has been cropped out (it would have been on the right-hand side).

In the upper right of the photograph, the Southport Pier is clearly seen.


Today, like everything to do with the Gold Coast, the cityscape has changed. High rise buildings now dot Main Beach and the Southport Yacht Club has grown like topsy.

Below is a contemporary picture of the Southport Boat Basin. This time taken facing south-east.

To help orient you, in the first photograph, the building on the water in the bottom right is the Navy cadet facility the TS Tyalgum. In the second picture it is on the far left of the shot.