The Town of Southport was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

, Australia.

History

On 11 November 1879, the

Nerang Nerang is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Nerang had a population of 16,864 people. Geography The Nerang River flows through the locality from south to east, passing through the town. The river ult ...

and

Coomera Coomera is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Coomera had a population of 13,305 people. Geography Located next to the Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads), ...

Divisions was created as two of 74 divisions within Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. On 6 July 1883, Southport Division was formed from part of subdivision No. 1 of Nerang Division and part of subdivision No. 1 of Coomera Division. On 6 Feb 1889, part of Southport Division was separated to be a municipal Shire of Southport, but this shire was abolished on 30 June 1892 and the original division was restored. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', the entire Southport Division became the Shire of Southport on 31 March 1903. On 12 April 1918, the Shire of Southport became the Town of Southport on 12 Apr 1918. A new town hall was in opened in 1935 and listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1998.

Amalgamations in 1948

On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government in

, an Order in Council replacing ten former local government areas between the

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainl ...

and the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

border with only four. The former ten were: * Beaudesert *

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,252 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenlei ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 5,948 people. Geography Coolangatta and its ...

* Southport * Tamborine *

Tingalpa Tingalpa is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tingalpa had a population of 8,290 people. Geography The suburb has some older style homes built in the post war period – weatherboard and chamferboard post war c ...

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

The four resulting local government areas were: *

Town of South Coast The Town of South Coast was a local government area in South East Queensland, Australia. History On 11 November 1879, the Nerang Division and Coomera Division were created as two of 74 divisions within Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act ...

, an amalgamation of the Towns of Southport and Coolangatta with the Burleigh Heads part of Nerang (which later became

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 the ...

) * the new

Shire of Albert The Shire of Albert was a local government area in Queensland, located south of the capital, Brisbane, and taking in areas to the north and west of the Gold Coast. It was named after the Prince Consort of the United Kingdom, and husband of Queen ...

: a merger of Beenleigh, Coomera, Nerang (except for the

Burleigh Heads Burleigh Heads is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Burleigh Heads had a population of 10,077 people. Geography Burleigh Head is a cape () jutting into the Coral Sea at the northern mouth of Tallebudgera Cre ...

area), the southern part of Tingalpa and the eastern part of Waterford * an enlarged Shire of Beaudesert, an amalgamation of Beaudesert and Tamborine with the western part of Waterford * the new

Redland Shire Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in June 2018, the city is spread alo ...

, an amalgamation of Cleveland and the northern part of Tingalpa (which later became

Redland City Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a Local government in Australia, local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in Jun ...

) The Order came into effect on 10 June 1949, when the first elections were held.

Chairmen and mayors

; Chairmen of the Division of Southport ; Chairmen of the Shire of Southport ; Mayors of the Town of Southport Following Southport's change of status to a Town, Edward Hicks was elected its first mayor at a meeting on 11 May 1918. From then on, mayors were popularly elected at triennial elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southport Town Former local government areas of Queensland 1883 establishments in Australia 1949 disestablishments in Australia