Johann Heinrich Casper Meyer (also known as Johan and John Henry Casper Meyer) (??-1901) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

of the Gold Coast region. Johan Meyer arrived in Australia from Germany around 1854 on the Aurora which was shipwrecked on Moreton Island. He did not immediately settle on the Gold Coast but spent time elsewhere, including in Sydney and Rockhampton. In 1858 he married the youngest daughter of Richard Pearson of Armidale, New South Wales before returning to Brisbane with his family to continue work as a builder and contractor and also entering the hotel trade. In 1875, Johan Meyer met a Mr. Beattie (also known as Beatty) at the Commercial Hotel in Brisbane. On learning that Johan Meyer was looking for land, he offered to sell the eighty acres he held on the

Nerang River The Nerang River is a perennial river in South East Queensland, Australia. Its drainage basin, catchment lies within the City of Gold Coast, Gold Coast Local government in Queensland, local government area and covers an area of . The river is app ...

three miles from Southport. Following an inspection of the property, Johan Meyer acquired James Beattie's land at Narrowneck and relocated his family to the only house on the property, known as the House of Blazes. Initially developing a

sugar plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacc ...

and

sugar mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

Joan Meyer also saw the opportunity for business success in catering to the accommodation needs of the regular visitors to the beaches of the Gold Coast. He started the first horse and vehicular private

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service across the Nerang River, referred to as the Meyer's Ferry and, in 1888, established the Main Beach Hotel (located at

Main Beach, Queensland Main Beach (originally Southport East) is a coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Main Beach had a population of 3,998 people. Geography Historically, the Main Beach ar ...

). In 1888, Meyer's family operated a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

service from

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

three times a week, that crossed the river at the ferry, taking passengers down to the main surf beach. His Main Beach Hotel became a postal receiving office in 1889 which was officially called Elston (later renamed

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

). In 1893, the hotel burned down and was only partially covered by insurance. During the 1890s, Johan Meyer's business went into decline and he faced financial ruin. Johan Meyer died at the Southport Railway Station on Friday 18 October 1901.Report of the death of Mr. Meyer
''Brisbane Courier'', Saturday 19 October 1901, p. 14 After his death, services lapsed and the area began to decline until the arrival of James Cavill in 1925.

Notes

External links

Early History of Surfers Paradise

Queensland Places: Surfers Paradise
1901 deaths German emigrants to Australia People from the Gold Coast, Queensland History of Gold Coast, Queensland Year of birth missing {{Australia-bio-stub