Southport Drill Hall

Originally constructed in Lawson Street, Southport, this 1890 drill hall was relocated to its current site in the former Southport showgrounds in 1995. A Southport Voluntary Infantry Company was formed in 1884, and converted into a militia, or partly paid force, in 1887. The growth of Southport after the completion of the railway in 1889 led to the development of a military strategy and the need for a training base. The simple yet functionally designed drill hall was built in cypress pine, with a curved corrugated iron roof, suspended on cast iron trusses. Although the Southport Drill Hall has sustained a long association with various Australian defence forces, it has also been also used for other community purposes, including the Southport Agricultural and Horticultural Society displays during Carnival Week 1910; a Boy Scout Group after WWI; and the Southport Surf Lifesaving Club from 1931. The outbreak of WWII saw the Commonwealth reclaiming exclusive use of the drill hall and it remained in military use until 1988. The building was then left vacant until 1990 when it was used for the Queensland Naval Brigade Southport. It now houses the Southport Military Museum.