Merrimac, Queensland Explained

Type:suburb
Merrimac
City:Gold Coast
State:qld
Coordinates:-28.0511°N 153.3744°W
Alternative Location Map:Australia Gold Coast
Pop:7212
Local Map:yes
Zoom:12
Postcode:4226
Elevation:4
Area:9.0
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:10.4
Dir1:SW
Location1:Surfers Paradise
Dist2:14.7
Dir2:SSW
Location2:Southport
Dist3:27.1
Dir3:NW
Location3:Tweed Heads
Dist4:78.7
Dir4:SSE
Location4:Brisbane
Lga:Gold Coast City
Stategov:Mudgeeraba
Fedgov:McPherson
Fedgov2:Moncrieff
Near-N:Carrara
Near-Ne:Carrara
Near-E:Clear Island Waters
Near-Se:Robina
Near-S:Robina
Near-Sw:Mudgeeraba
Near-W:Worongary
Near-Nw:Carrara

Merrimac is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.[1] In the, Merrimac had a population of 7,212 people.

Geography

Merrimac is located on the floodplains in the central region of the city. Merrimac is the site of new housing and building developments as of March 2006.

The South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program allows for an infill station to be constructed in Merrimac on the Gold Coast railway line, between the Nerang and Robina railway stations.

History

The origin of the name of the suburb is unclear. In 1873 Thomas Blacket Stephens purchased 6980acres of land; his wife Ann named the property Merrimac. In 1906, it was claimed to be named by the American Indian word for swift running waters.[2] It has been suggested that it has been named after the Merrimack River in the New England region of the United States, or USS Merrimac, a Union navy frigate itself named for the river.[3] [4]

The land was swampy but Stephens and later his son William Stephens progressively drained the land and turned it into productive farming land, principally used for dairying, but also sheep, cattle and sugarcane. The Stephens family continued to purchase land, increasing the estate to approximately 14000acres In 1908, the family sold 11000acres at per acre, believed to the highest price per acre of a property of that size at the time, to a syndicate from Victoria,[5] which subdivided it into small farms known as the Stephens Estate.

Merrimac State School opened on 25 July 1917.

Merrimac State High School opened on 30 January 1979 (but is now within the suburb of Mermaid Waters).

St Michael's College opened on 4 February 1985.

St Michael's College opened its Carrara campus on 4 February 1985, but, as at 2021, this campus is within the boundaries of Merrimac.

All Saints Anglican School opened on 28 January 1987.

Gold Coast Jewish Day School opened on 1995 at 16A Ghilgai Road and was renamed King Solomon College on 1 January 1996. In 2007, the Gold Coast Montessori College relocated to share the King Solomon College site (having been originally established on 13 July 2002 at Lot 2, Mudgeeraba Road, Mudgeeraba). Faced with falling student numbers, King Solomon College suspended its operation on 18 July 2008.[6] Gold Coast Montessori College closed on 31 October 2008.[7] Two schools merged forming Queensland Independent College on 2 April 2009,[8] [9] closing on 16 June 2017.[10] [11] [12]

The Queensland Football School took over the site of the Queensland Independent College at 16A Ghilgai Road to commence operation at January 2020,[13] but the school did not open.[14]

Star of the Sea School opened in 2022 at 16 Ghilgai Road.[15]

Demographics

In the, Merrimac had a population of 7,071 people.

In the, Merrimac had a population of 7,212 people.

Heritage listings

There are a number of heritage sites in Merrimac, including:

Education

Merrimac State Primary School is the one public primary school in the suburb; Merrimac State High School is located in Mermaid Waters. Private schools (P–12) in Merrimac include St Michaels College, All Saints Anglican School and King Solomon College.

Merrimac State School is a government primary (Preparatory to Year 6) school for boys and girls at 2 Boowaggan Road (-28.0412°N 153.3766°W).[17] [18] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 809 students with 63 teachers (53 full-time equivalent) and 35 non-teaching staff (20 full-time equivalent).[19] It includes a special education program.

Star of the Sea School is a Catholic primary school for boys and girls at 16 Ghilgai Road .[20]

All Saints Anglican School is a private primary and secondary (Preparatory to Year 12) school for boys and girls at Highfield Drive (-28.0608°N 153.3611°W).[21] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1,788 students with 156 teachers (144 full-time equivalent) and 98 non-teaching staff (71 full-time equivalent).

St Michael's College is a Catholic secondary (7–12) school for boys and girls at Jondique Avenue (-28.0443°N 153.365°W).[22] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 929 students with 71 teachers (67 full-time equivalent) and 39 non-teaching staff (29 full-time equivalent).

The Japanese Language Supplementary School of Queensland Japanese School of Gold Coast (ゴールドコースト校 Gōrudo Kōsuto Kō), a weekend Japanese school, holds its classes at All Saints. It maintains its school office in Surfers Paradise.[23]

There is no government secondary school in Merrimac. The nearest are Merrimac State High School in Mermaid Waters and Robina State High School in Robina.

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. 26 January 2020.
  2. News: THE DAIRY.. 12 May 1906. The Queenslander. 5 April 2020. Queensland, Australia. 31. Trove. 17 June 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240617110135/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20826209. live.
  3. Web site: Merrimac. Gold Coast City Council. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20051223102559/http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=1055. 23 December 2005. 27 November 2010.
  4. Web site: Merrimac history. Gold Coast City Council. en-au. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404194455/https://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/thegoldcoast/merrimac-history-2650.html. 4 April 2020. 2020-04-04.
  5. News: Sale of Merrimac.. 27 October 1908. The Brisbane Courier. 5 April 2020. Queensland, Australia. 4. Trove. 17 June 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240617110136/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/19546736. live.
  6. Web site: Queensland Jewish History. Jewish Queensland. en-AU. 2020-04-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404203623/https://www.jewishqld.com/about-the-jewish-community/queensland-jewish-history/. 4 April 2020. live.
  7. News: Jones. Katrina. College in crisis finds a saviour. 2008-10-02. The Gold Coast Bulletin.
  8. News: Montessori school may re-launch. 2008-04-30. Gold Coast Sun.
  9. Web site: Our History. King Solomon College. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20091124225605/http://www.kscollege.com.au/Our_History.html. 24 November 2009. 9 April 2020.
  10. Web site: Changes to Register. November 2017. Non-State Schools Accreditation Board. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200307125119/https://nssab.qld.edu.au/Pdf/Changes-to-Register-1117.pdf. 2020-03-07. 5 April 2020.
  11. 9 April 2020. Schools at 16A Ghilgai Road in Merrimac, Gold Coast. Non-State School Accreditation Board.
  12. Web site: Our History. Queensland Independent College. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619061236/http://www.qic.qld.edu.au/Our_History.html. 19 June 2013. 9 April 2020.
  13. Web site: Changes to Register. April 2019. Non-State Schools Accreditation Board. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404204116/https://nssab.qld.edu.au/Pdf/changes-to-register-0419.pdf. 4 April 2020. 5 April 2020.
  14. Web site: Changes to Register. February 2020. Non-State Schools Accreditation Board. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404204546/https://nssab.qld.edu.au/Pdf/changes-to-register-0220.pdf. 4 April 2020. 5 April 2020.
  15. Web site: New Schools . 2022-05-28 . Brisbane Catholic Education . 4 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191204084356/https://www.bne.catholic.edu.au/schools-curriculum/new-schools/Pages/default.aspx . live .
  16. Gold Coast Local Heritage Register - A to M, pp. 75-76
  17. Web site: State and non-state school details. 9 July 2018. Queensland Government. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181121065959/https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997. 21 November 2018. 21 November 2018.
  18. Web site: Merrimac State School. 21 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20130419060124/http://merrimacss.eq.edu.au/. 19 April 2013. live.
  19. Web site: ACARA School Profile 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181122010027/http://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/school-profile-20172c7b12404c94637ead88ff00003e0139.xlsx?sfvrsn=0. 22 November 2018. 22 November 2018.
  20. Web site: Welcome to Star of the Sea School . 2022-05-28 . Star of the Sea School . 17 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240617110139/https://www.staroftheseamerrimac.qld.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx . live .
  21. Web site: All Saints Anglican School. 21 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224828/https://www.asas.qld.edu.au/. 8 November 2018. live.
  22. Web site: St Michael's College . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181018015737/http://www.stmichaels.qld.edu.au/ . 18 October 2018 . 21 November 2018.
  23. "平成 26(2014)年度" (Archive). The Japanese Language Supplementary School of Queensland. Retrieved on April 1, 2015. p. 4. "借用校舎:オールセインツアングリカンスクール(All Saints Anglican School) Highfield Drive, Merrimac, QLD4226, AUSTRALIA 事務所:The Japanese Society of the Gold Coast/ The Japanese School of Gold Coast 25 Mawarra Building, 3108 Gold Coast Highway, Surfers Paradise, QLD4217"