Southport

History

During an expedition beginning in 1868 led by the Surveyor General of South Australia, George Goyder, four towns were surveyed in 1870 – Daly, Palmerston, (now Darwin), Southport and Virginia. Goyder's initial plans were for a town that would occupy some 500 acres, including 335 half acre blocks for development. Streets were laid out and named after members of the surveyor's party. Between 1870 and 1872, the construction of the Overland Telegraph encouraged development in Southport. The new town was used as a depot for construction teams working on this significant infrastructure project. A telegraph office opened in 1874 following the completion of the line. with a privately built landing alongside. The discovery of gold near Pine Creek during Telegraph construction saw Southport rapidly develop into an important regional centre. Local businessman John Lewis began using the town to land provisions in support of the gold mines to the south in 1872. In 1873 he constructed a second jetty and powder store to facilitate unloading of supplies and explosives. Other mining companies were encouraged to set up support operations in the town. and Samuel Brown), a post office and numerous businesses including blacksmiths', wheelwrights' and saddlers' shops, telegraph and police station, gunpowder magazine, bond store, general stores and even a cordial factory. The steam launch Palmerston was commissioned between Port Darwin and Southport in 1877, which improved the service and reduced the trip to one of 3 hours. The town began to decline in the 1880s, largely due to reduced traffic between the town and goldfields to the south. By 1885 many businesses had closed. Whilst there was still a blacksmith, saddler and wheelwright in town, they were supplemented by only a single hotel…

Most-observed species

• Bluestem

  Andropogon gayanus Kunth · Liliopsida
  7,212
• Typhonium praetermissum A.Hay

  Typhonium praetermissum A.Hay · Liliopsida
  6,632
• agile wallaby

  Macropus agilis (Gould, 1841) · Mammalia
  5,738
• northern brown bandicoot

  Isoodon macrourus (Gould, 1842) · Mammalia
  2,792
• common brushtail possum

  Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792) · Mammalia
  2,700
• Bufo toad, Bullfrog, Cane toad, Giant American toad, Marine Toad, Suriname toad

  Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  1,655
• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  797
• wild boar

  Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  653