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Main Beach (originally Southport East) is a coastal town and
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
in the
City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being th ...
,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, Australia. In the , the suburb of Main Beach had a population of 3,883 people.


Geography

Historically, the Main Beach area was a narrow strip of coastal sand dunes separating the mouth of the
Nerang River The Nerang River is a perennial river located in South East Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast local government area and covers an area of . The river is approximately in length. Course and features The Nerang R ...
() from the Coral Sea. Narrow Neck formed the southern boundary and to the north was a long
sand spit A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due to ...
terminated by the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
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 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 ...
, to the west by Labrador Channel and South Channel, and Macintosh Island, and to the south by Narrow Neck ().


History

During the early years in which
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...
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 Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...
. 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. The construction of the Jubilee Bridge led to land sales in the area. The
Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...
surveyed 252 blocks of land for perpetual land leases which it sold in stages from December 1922. 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 The Southport Spit (officially known as The Spit) is a Spit (landform), spit and neighbourhood within the northern end of Main Beach, Queensland, Main Beach, City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a permanent sand spit that separates ...
followed the construction of the
Gold Coast Seaway 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 ...
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 Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
. 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 An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
at Narrowneck acts as a natural barrier to the more intensively developed area to the south. The
Gold Coast Oceanway 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 ...
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. At the , the suburb of Main Beach had a population of 3,496 people. In the , 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%.


Heritage listings

Main Beach has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * off Macarthur Parade: Main Beach Pavilion and Southport Surf Lifesaving Club * Main Beach Parade: the former
Southport Cable Hut The Pacific Cable Station was built in 1902 in Southport, Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia, continuing to operate for sixty years, finally closing in 1962. While most of the site has been dismantled, the Southport Cable Hut remains and has ...
* Seaworld Drive: Humphreys Boat ShedGold Coast Local Heritage Register - A to M, pp. 57-58


References


Sources

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External links

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Main Beach Progress Association Official site
{{Localities in Gold Coast Suburbs of the Gold Coast, Queensland Coastline of Queensland