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Nerang Divisional Board was the Local Government organisation for the district of the South Coast region of Queensland, Australia. It existed between 1879 and 1902.

History

Under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 the Nerang Division was proclaimed in 1879 within South East Queensland. The small scattered communities in the region were reluctant to form local authorities that would be responsible for the road network. Because of the small population they were unable to fund the roads and acquired funds from the State in the 1870s for basic roads and bridges to replace the ferries. Under the Divisional Boards Act of 1879 the Governor authorised that any part of the colony outside an existing municipality became a new divisional board with a nine member council. They received ₤2 for every ₤1 raised in rates for the first five years. This was reduced to ₤1 for ₤1 of rates after five years.

The Queensland Government Gazette dated 11 November 1879 described the four local authorities that would eventually be reformed, disbanded in part and lead to the Shire of Albert as it existed in 1987. The official description of Nerang Division in the Queensland Government Gazette 1879 was

"commencing on the shore of Moreton Bay at the north-east corner of portion 14 parish of Nerang; bounded thence by the north boundary of that parish westerly to Coombabah Creek at the northwest corner of portion 55 in the same parish; thence by that creek to its head; thence by the western watershed of Nerang Creek southerly to a point due east from the south-east corner of portion 30 parish of Barrow; thence by a line bearing west to the Coomera River at the south-west corner of said portion 30 parish of Barrow; thence by the Coomera River upwards to the south boundary of the parish of Cedar; thence by that south boundary bearing west to the Darlington Range; thence by the Darlington Range and the eastern watershed of the Albert River southerly to the south boundary of the colony; thence by that boundary north-easterly to the Pacific Ocean; thence by the sea-coast northerly to a point due east from the north-east corner of portion 14 parish of Nerang; thence by a line bearing west to the point of commencement."

Like many other divisions throughout the colony the boundaries were drawn in Brisbane with little regard to local sentiment and were based on subdivisions 3 and 4 of the Logan Census district.

The Queensland Government Gazette December 1879 listed the first members of Nerang Divisional Board as:- Alfred Miskin, Robert Hope, Robert J Johnstone, Capt. Walter John Brown, Francis McIntyre, Charles Batten, Samuel Andrews, Wilhelm Schemisch and Frederick Fowler. They were appointed by the Governor because of the failure of locals to elect a council. Mr Browne was the first chairman and the first meeting was held at Nerang on 19 February 1880 in the local courthouse.

Walter John Browne was the first chairman of the Nerang Divisional Board, Queensland, Australia.

Upon the resignation of Capt. Browne in 1881, Robert Hope, a Nerang farmer, business man and horse breeder succeeded to the position. Together with Browne he was a committee member of the Nerang Annual Races as well as an extensive land owner. He came up for re-election in 1884 and lost to Alexander Eastaughffe. William Stephens was elected chairman which he held until 1895. The Board's first clerk was H. G Bryant, a Nerang storekeeper and Honorary Secretary of the Race Committee. Forced to resign in 1882 he was replaced by William J. R. Pascoe, school teacher at Nerang. Pascoe was replaced by David Freeman, his successor, who served as Shire Clerk from 1882 to 1888.

On 14 July 1883, part of the Nerang Division and part of the Coomera Division were separated to create the Southport Division. The farming community that dominated in Nerang had little interest in the priorities of the urban dwellers of Southport.

The Nerang Division population in 1884 was 1200. In the Queensland Government Gazette January - June 1885 it is mentioned that

"an area of land in Price Street, Nerang is allocated to the Nerang Divisional Board and a large shire office was built in Nerang around this time."

The Queensland Post Office Directory of 1889 provides the following information

"Nerang Divisional Board - Chairman - W Stephens. Members - F. Fowler, Robert Hope, F Largessner, I. Andrews, Hugh McLachlan, Thomas Gaven, Samuel Andrews, Stephen Tobin. Assessor - William Castles. Auditors - H. Schneider, C. A. Lambert. Clerk - P. Stewart. Area 241 square miles; population 1400; rate payers on roll - 360; dwellings - 200; rates - general rate 1/- in the £, special rate 2/- in the £; annual value of rateable property £10,957; receipts from rates £515/4/-; Government endowment £947/19/-; total revenue £2,012/9/-; total expenditure £2,244/13/6. The board meets in the boardroom at Nerang on the first Saturday in each month. Nerang Division includes the township of Coolangatta, Burleigh and Burleigh North."

Further changes are revealed in Pugh's Almanac of 1900

"Population 1500; 500 ratepayers on the roll; Chairman - D. Yaun; Members - W. H. Laver, F. Jamieson, T. Laver, J. Andrews, W. Rudd, N. Reid, W. Waters, B. Schuster. Clerk - Walter J Browne; Auditors - R. E. Davenport, J. E. Young. The Board meets in the Board's hall, Mudgeeraba on the Saturday before full moon each month at 2 pm."

Members of Nerang Divisional Board photographed at Mudgeeraba. Believed to include S. Stephens, Robert Hope, W. H. Laver, Edward Cooper, Isaac Andrews, Thomas Gaven, Mr Gallagher, W. Stephens.

Around 1895 a Shire Office was built in Mudgeeraba opposite the Hampshire Terrace Hotel and this became the shire headquarters. In 1895 capital value of Nerang Divisional Board was £60,000.

The Local Authorities Act 1902 abolished divisional boards replacing them with shires; thus the Nerang Division became Shire of Nerang on 31 March 1903. On 12 June 1914, part of the Shire of Nerang was separated to create the Town of Coolangatta. In 1916 the headquarters were at Mudgeeraba. In 1928 there was a Royal Commission to examine the boundaries of the local authorities. The proposal was to form two new shires to replace the existing six - Waterford, Beenleigh, Coomera, Nerang, Southport and Coolangatta. Southport and Coolangatta were to form the Town of South Coast with a narrow strip of beach front land connecting the two. Beenleigh, Nerang, Waterford and Coomera Shires were to form a larger Nerang Shire. This remained unresolved until 11 December 1948 when the Town of South Coast Shire and the Albert Shire were formally constituted. When the Albert Shire was formed a problem of where to have the headquarters arose. Beenleigh was the largest town but considered too far north. Nerang was bypassed and the headquarters were established in Southport. They were moved from the Mudgeeraba Post Office to premises in Scarborough Street, Southport in May 1950. The first Albert Shire Council comprised of Chairman - E. J. Gaven, Members - W. F. Birmingham, H. J. Latimer, J. W. Latimer, A. Clark, F. G. Cook, W. J. Wolff, W. F. Oxenford, R. H. Yaun, S. H. Bigg and J. L. Schuster.

Today

The Town of South Coast changed its name to Town of Gold Coast on 23 October 1958. It became Gold Coast City on 16 May 1959. The Albert Shire Council in 1976 moved its headquarters from Southport to Nerang and the northern part of the shire became part of the City of Logan in 1979. The Albert Shire saw rapid growth during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1995 there was an amalgamation of the Gold Coast City Council and the Albert Shire Council forming what is now the second largest local authority in Australia - Gold Coast City Council.

Further reading

• Longhurst, Robert. Nerang Shire - A History to 1949.
• Local Government - History - Gold Coast. Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library.