The hinterland's supply of redcedar began drawing timber cutters to the region in large numbers in the mid-19th century and in 1865 the inland township of Nerang (named after the local aboriginal word neerang, meaning ‘shovel-nosed shark’) was surveyed and established as a base for the industry. The surrounding valleys and plains were quickly developed as cattle, sugar and cotton farms and by 1869 settlement had reached the mouth of the Nerang River on the Southern edge of Moreton Bay. The township of Southport was surveyed in 1875 in a location known as Nerang Creek Heads.
