The Southport Spit (also referred to as The Spit) lies opposite 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...

 to the north of Main Beach

Main Beach, Queensland

Main Beach is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Main Beach had a population of 3,324....

, Gold Coast

Gold Coast, Queensland

Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

. It is a permanent sand spit

Spit (landform)

A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...

 that separates the Southport 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...

 from the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Today the Southport Spit is home to Sea World

Sea World

Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...

, Sea World Nara Resort, the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa, as well as Palazzo Versace. Adjacent to The Spit is the Gold Coast Sand Pumping Jetty, a popular destination for fishermen and part of the Gold Coast Seaway's Sand Bypassing System.

The Gold Coast Oceanway

Gold Coast Oceanway

The Gold Coast Oceanway is a foreshoreway along beaches in Gold Coast, Queensland. The Gold Coast Oceanway is a shared use pedestrian and cyclist pathway on the Gold Coast, connecting the Point Danger lighthouse on the New South Wales and Queensland border to the Gold Coast Seaway...

 and the Federation Walk

Federation Walk

Federation Walk is a 3.5 km pedestrian walkway on the Queensland Gold Coast. It is operated as a community project that was launched through efforts of the Main Beach Progress Association and the Friends of Federation Walk to celebrate the Centenary of the Federation of Australia in 2001...

 provide opportunities for pedestrians and cyclists to explore the Spit's environments.
As a product of longshore drift

Longshore drift

Longshore drift consists of the transportation of sediments along a coast at an angle to the shoreline, which is dependent on prevailing wind direction, swash and backwash. This process occurs in the littoral zone, and in or within close proximity to the surf zone...

, its growth and establishment as a landform saw demand for private leasehold title of land, along with applications for dredging

Dredge

Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...

 rights of mineral sands.