its massive appearance but the spelling was corrupted to Burleigh Head over time. The town of Burleigh (centred at ) was surveyed by on 18 November 1871 by surveyor G.L. Pratten. On 27 May 1872 the Queensland Government announced the sale of town lots in Burleigh would take place on 2 July 1872 at the Lands Office in Beenleigh. On offer were 65 suburban lots ranging from and 19 country lots ranging from on or near Tallebudgera Creek. On 2 April 1873 at the Lands Office in Beenleigh a further 40 suburban lots mostly about were offered for sale. By 1873, the township had been surveyed, a number of the allotments sold and a track created connecting Burleigh Heads to Nerang. References to its magnificent beach were starting to appear and reports in newspapers suggested that Burleigh Heads' natural beauty had the potential to eclipse all other seaside locations in the region. However, despite the eventual sale of all the allotments in the township, by 1885, there was only one accommodation house run by Fredrick Fowler and very few, if any, privately owned houses. Further subdivisions and land sales took place in Burleigh during 1914, 1915, 1930, 1929 and 1947. Development including restaurants and guest houses to support the increasing interest in bathing that took place in the last years of the 19th century and the first of the 20th century. It has been the centre of beach activities and a camping site for many years. The extent of the town's development can be seen in this 1929 map. On 11 November 1879, the Queensland Government created 74 division of local government which saw Burleigh Heads included in the Nerang Division. On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government in South East Queensland the Queensland Government replaced ten former local government areas between the City of Brisbane and the New South Wales border with four new local government areas. Burleigh became part of the newly created Town of South Coast along with other coastal towns Southport and Coolangatta. In January 1884, 278 subdivided allotments of the Burleigh Head North estate were auctioned by John Cameron, auctioneer. A map advertising the auction shows the estate to be fronting the Esplanade and close to Nerang Creek. The South Coast railway line from Ernest Junction through to Tweed Heads opened in 1903. It passed through Burleigh Heads on