Forty years after the Southport Pier was demolished, the city council is spending millions on a new jetty for its Southport Broadwater Parklands.
All those decades ago, the pier was more than just a place for anglers to cast a line. The original jetty was built in about 1883. In 1869, the first recorded white settler, Richard Gardiner, built a home and a wharf near the river end of Queen Street. To the south the Loder family set up a farm. By 1875, the village's popularity had grown and George Pratten was commissioned to survey the area. The township was named Southport after the north of England seaside resort and because of its position on the most southern port of the colony of Queensland. As news of the bustling seaside community spread, accommodation was built to house visitors and the need for a jetty became apparent. The railway had not been built -- it was established in 1889 -- and water was the main transport route between Southport and Brisbane. On arrival, passengers would row ashore.
About 1880, the townspeople donated funds towards a jetty and by 1883 the new pier jutted 245m into the Broadwater. Steamboats such as the Natone and the President began servicing the Brisbane-to-Southport route. The original jetty had a single handrail and tramway on one side, and was complete with a goods shed and waiting room. The local authority, the Southport Divisional Board, leased the jetty from the townspeople for £110 a year. In 1902, a seawall was built along The Esplanade at Southport and by 1908, the first commercial tourist boats were operating. In 1913, the local council replaced the timber pier with a concrete one, using a £5000 loan from local businesses. An enclosed bathing area was created at the end of the pier in 1914 and in 1926, Golf Recreation built a picture theatre on the pier. The Regent movie theatre had opened years earlier, but the Pier Theatre was more popular as it housed 1500 people and was a classy venue complete with chandeliers. Fire destroyed the theatre and the adjoining kiosk in 1932 and it had to be rebuilt. As the years passed the Southport Pier became an amusement haven for local residents. For a penny residents could walk the pier or fish from it; for sixpence they could moor a boat for 20 minutes. Townspeople would roller- skate along the pier and dances were often held there. Residents remember the area fondly. "There was a telescope where you could put coins in and look out across the Broadwater ... there were amusement machines like 'What the Butler Saw' in an arcade near the cinema," said one resident. "You could rent out a boat from the pier and hear them call out 'Boat number 5 please come in, your time's up' over the megaphone." By 1959, the pier was in urgent need of refurbishment, but plans to rebuild were deferred until 1969, when it was demolished because Bruce Small decided to redevelop the foreshore.
I've struggled to source early photos of the pier, but when I locate them I will post to this listing. You are looking for a Eclipse tin with a log, pencil and a FTF Geo Badge.Muggles everywhere, so take care.