Natural Bridge is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the Local government in Australia, local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774, it is the second most populous local ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It borders

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. In the , Natural Bridge had a population of 90 people.

Geography

Natural Bridge is in the far south-west of the

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

. Its name is taken from a

natural rock arch Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

Springbrook National Park The Springbrook National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. The park is situated on the McPherson Range, near Springbrook, approximately south of Brisbane. The park is par ...

. A waterfall along Cave Creek, a tributary of the

Nerang River The Nerang River is a perennial river in South East Queensland, Australia. Its drainage basin, catchment lies within the City of Gold Coast, Gold Coast Local government in Queensland, local government area and covers an area of . The river is app ...

flows through the arch. Natural Bridge is located at the southern extent of the Nerang River valley on the southern border with

, between the

Springbrook plateau Springbrook is a rural town and locality in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The locality borders New South Wales. In the , the locality of Springbrook had a population of 705. Geography The plateau is covered in subtropical rai ...

and Binna Burra in the

Scenic Rim Region The Scenic Rim Region is a local government areas of Queensland, local government area (LGA) in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, South East Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately 80 kilometres due south of Brisban ...

. The western half of Natural Bridge is protected within

Lamington National Park The Lamington National Park is a national park in the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport, Queensland, Southport on the Gold Coast, Australia, Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane ...

. The rugged landscape here is dotted with waterfalls, lookouts and peaks rising above 1,100 metres. The valley is traversed along its length via the Nerang–Murwillumbah Road which continues south.

History

Numinbah Upper State School opened on 31 January 1939. In 1957 it was renamed Natural Bridge State School. It closed on 13 December 1991. The school was located at 3160 Nerang Murwillumbah Road (). During 2020 and 2021, the Queensland borders were closed to most people due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Border crossing points were either closed or had a

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

checkpoint to allow entry to only those people with an appropriate permit. The Nerang-Murwillumbah Road at Natural Bridge had a police checkpoint.

Demographics

In the , Natural Bridge had a population of 108 people. In the , Natural Bridge had a population of 90 people.

Education

There are no schools in Natural Bridge. The nearest primary school is Numinbah Valley State School in neighbouring

Numinbah Valley Numinbah Valley is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Numinbah Valley had a population of 212 people. Geography The Numinbah Valley is a valley and locality in the ...

to the north. The nearest secondary school is

Nerang State High School Nerang State High School (NSHS) is a public, co-educational, secondary school, located in the Gold Coast town of Nerang (Queensland, Australia). The school is administered by the Department of Education and is located in Division 5 of the Ci ...

Nerang Nerang is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Nerang had a population of 17,048 people. Geography The Nerang River flows through the locality from south to east, passing through the town ...

to the north-east.

Amenities

The

Police Citizens Youth Club Police & Community Youth Clubs (PCYC) or Police and Community Youth Clubs is a network of Australian non-profit, community organisations, founded in New South Wales. In some states such as NSW, they are constituted as an Incorporated Association. ...

operates the Bornhoffen camp as a community-based group accommodation centre.

Attractions

The Natural Bridge section of

contains one of the largest

glowworm Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence al ...

colonies in Australia. In 2007, 280,000 people visited Natural Bridge.

References

External links

* {{Gold Coast Landmarks Suburbs of the Gold Coast, Queensland Rock formations of Australia Subterranean waterfalls Waterfalls of Queensland Localities in Queensland Tourist attractions on the Gold Coast, Queensland 1979 establishments in Australia