QLDPort & river
Coomera
Where the southern road crossed the Coomera River.
1860sTimber rafted down the river
WHAT STARTED IT
The Coomera River was navigable by light cutters and steamers up to the ford, and timber was rafted down it from the 1860s. The main southern road crossed the river here, first at the ford and then at a ferry and punt built lower down.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Sugar, maize and potatoes were grown on the river flats in the 1870s, and Lower Coomera became a small village with a post office, store, hotel and Wesleyan church near the ferry. The South Coast railway bridged the river in 1889, but road traffic relied on the ferry until the Coomera Bridge opened in 1930.
TURNING POINTS
1860sTimber-getters begin rafting logs down the Coomera River.
1873A Brisbane Courier reporter finds no township yet, but a ferry and punt being built downstream of the ford.
1874A Wesleyan church opens at Lower Coomera.
1889The South Coast railway crosses the Coomera River.
1930The Coomera Bridge opens on the South Coast highway, replacing the ferry.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
One of the Gold Coast’s fastest-growing suburbs, with about 20,200 people in 2021. Theme parks, a marine industry precinct and new estates now cover the old farms.