Southport Bathing Pavilion

The Southport Bathing Pavilion was built concurrently with the Main Beach Pavilion in 1934. Both were designed by Brisbane architects Hall and Phillips in the Spanish Mission style. This bathing pavilion was located close to the terminus of the Brisbane-Southport Railway. Bathing in the Broadwater was popular, particularly prior to the construction of the Jubilee Bridge to Main Beach in 1925. The bathing pavilions provided amenities for day trippers and holiday makers as Southport's tourism enterprises grew. In 1927 the Pier Theatre, which included a cafe and indoor golf course was built on the Southport jetty. Visitor numbers increased in the early 1930s when the sealed road from Brisbane was completed. Road traffic further increased after the railway closed in 1961. The bathing pavilion's use decreased as reclamation of more land from the Broadwater made it less accessible for swimmers, and closer to the traffic on the ever expanding Esplanade. A new concrete bridge over the Broadwater opened in December 1966, providing a more direct route to Surfers Paradise, which became the focus of Gold Coast tourism thereafter. The Southport bathing pavilion's importance declined and it is now converted into small function spaces available for community events.