Merrimac is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Merrimac had a population of 7,071 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 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. 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. 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 In 1908 , the family sold at per acre, believed to the highest price per acre of a property of that size at the time, to a syndicate from Victoria, 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. Gold Coast Montessori College closed on 31 October 2008. Two schools merged forming Queensland Independent College on 2 April 2009, closing on 16 June