Labrador, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Labrador is a small suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 located on the Gold Coast in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. At the 2006 Census, Labrador had a population of 15,391.

The suburb overlooks the Gold Coast Broadwater
Gold Coast Broadwater
The Gold Coast Broadwater, also known as Southport Broadwater and Gold Coast Harbour, is a large shallow estuary of water reaching from the locality of Southport to the southern section of the World Heritage Listed Moreton Bay along the eastern coast of Australia...

 to the east and Southport
Southport, Queensland
-Sport:The Southport Sharks Australian rules football club has a presence in the area, including a club and function centre.-Transport:The Broadwaterway is a foreshoreway that encourages pedestrians and cyclists to travel along the Broadwater foreshores of Southport.A ferry terminal is planned for...

 on the southern border.

Dawn Rix in her book A History of Labrador writes that local sugar-planter and investor Robert Muir is believed to have named the area in the late 19th century after the a local fishery in north-eastern Canada, owing to the similarities both held in the recreational fishing
Recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is fishing for profit, or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival....

. The Labrador Hotel, a building that was constructed circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 1881 by Queensland coach service Cobb and Co, evidently perpetuated the name "Labrador" for the area, but was destroyed by fire in 1888. Despite this, a residence called Labrador house was built and even, in 1921, Labrador State School.

History

In April 1878 sugar farmer Robert Muir and investor John Lennon bought 139 acre (0.56251354 km²) of portion 62 of Crown Land, originally known as Southport North. Portion 62 fronted the Broadwater from Biggera Creek to Broad Street, and the future Billington Street formed part of the western boundary, which continued north until it reached Biggera Creek. The land was surveyed and divided into 19 sections not long after its purchase. When the allotments were sold they were advertised as part of ‘Mr Muir’s Central Southport Estate’. The land overlooked the expanse of the Broadwater and was a good spot for fishing.

External links

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