South Grafton is a suburb of

Grafton, New South Wales Grafton ( Bundjalung-Yugambeh: Gumbin Gir) is a city in the Northern Rivers region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is located on the Clarence River, approximately by road north-northeast of the state capital Sydney. The closest m ...

, taking in most of the area of the city south of the Clarence River. At the time of the

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

, South Grafton had a population of 6,068 people, about one-third of Grafton's total population.2016 Census QuickStats: South Grafton
. Retrieved 27 January 2018.

History

South Grafton was first settled around the same time as the main Grafton townsite. However, it was not until the opening of the

Grafton Bridge Grafton Bridge is a road bridge spanning Grafton Gully in Auckland, New Zealand. Built of reinforced concrete in 1910, it connects the Auckland CBD and Karangahape Road with Grafton. It spans about 97.6 metres (320 feet), rises 25.6 metr ...

in 1932 that a direct road connection was established between the two settlements – previously residents had relied upon a ferry service to cross the Clarence River. In 1896, South Grafton was given its own municipal government under the ''Municipalities Act 1867''. It was known as the South Grafton Municipal District until 1906 and thereafter as the South Grafton Municipality. In 1956, the South Grafton Municipality was merged into the Grafton City Council. This was in turn merged with other local government areas in 2004 to form the current

Clarence Valley Council Clarence Valley Council is a local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The council services an area of and draws its name from the Clarence River, which flows through most of the council area. The are ...

Facilities

The Grafton railway station is located in South Grafton. It was known as the South Grafton station until 1976, when the old Grafton station north of the river closed. South Grafton has two schools: South Grafton High School and South Grafton Public School.

Heritage listings

South Grafton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * North Coast railway: Grafton railway station

Notable residents

Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939. He was the leade ...

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

from 7 April 1939 to 26 April 1939, lived in South Grafton from 1904 to 1920, where he ran a private hospital. He was elected to the municipal council in 1914, and was twice elected as mayor, in 1918 and 1919.Page, Sir Earle Christmas (1880–1961)
, ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Retrieved 27 January 2018.

References

{{Reflist Northern Rivers Clarence Valley Council Localities in New South Wales Grafton, New South Wales