The Pacific Cable Station was built in 1902 in Southport, Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia, continuing to operate for sixty years, finally closing in 1962.

The rapid long distance communication provided by telegraph systems had a major impact on society.

However, the South Australian government successfully negotiated for the link to connect with Adelaide via Port Darwin and an overland route through the centre of Australia.

A major advantage put forward by Fleming and other proponents of the Pacific route was that it would be more secure in times of war.

The high cost of telegrams through the Eastern Cable Company's system provided further motivation for a competing route.

The ability to communicate directly with the United States and so access more trade opportunities was another argument in favour of the Pacific Cable.

[7] At the same time, a temporary cable station that had been previously constructed in England and dismantled for shipment to Australia was transported to Southport on the Maid of Sker and erected in the beach at Southport to act as a test house and temporary buildings for the equipment.

An additional eight-acre site bounded by Brighton Parade and the Nerang River was acquired for the cable landing.

[10] In late 1901 the commonwealth government called for tenders to construct three buildings, including a central building housing the cable and land lines, with facilities for staff, and two separate houses to accommodate the cable superintendent and the land line superintendent.

The Pacific Cable was completed on 31 October 1902 and officially opened at Southport on 3 November 1902 by the Postmaster-General of Australia, the Honourable James Drake; the total cost was around 2 million pounds sterling.

There was only one serious interruption to the service during World War I, in 1914 when the Nurnberg, a German cruiser, cut the cable at Fanning Island.

During World War II, following the raid on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in December 1941, the Australian authorities, aware of the importance of the cable as the only link Australia had with the United Kingdom other than the Overland Telegraph and Middle East Route, straddling potentially hostile countries and aware of the possibility of enemy action, declared that schools in the Southport area should not open at the beginning of 1942.

The Cable Station at Bauer Street was sold to De La Salle Brothers who operated a community youth centre there.

[1] By January 1950, the original cable hut located close to the beach at Narrow Neck had gone, leaving only a cement slab and a flag pole partly surrounded by a barbed wire fence.

The current brick hut located at Cable Park was built during the first half of 1951 to remedy this situation.

The Cable Hut is a small brick structure set well back from Main Beach Parade in the park.

A plain wooden door, secured by a barrel bolt and padlock, is centered in the northern wall.

A section of submarine cable is mounted on the eastern wall above a rectangular brass plaque.

The larger of the two cables is fixed with a metal saddle to a rectangular piece of wood fastened to the wall.

[1] About fourteen smaller grey cables emerge from the top of this box; they are fixed to the wall by a bracket.

Above this, twelve of the cables turn and run horizontally to the east, over two rusted metal brackets.

The other six run further to the left to a point immediately above the two thick cables at the eastern end of the wall.

Two of the cables which come out of the top of the red metal box turn to the west and curve downwards around the bottom of the wooden panel to enter the gauge at approximately the 'two o'clock' position.

[1] A paved path runs from the eastern side of the hut towards a large raised circular platform.

[1] It was described as having met the following criteria:[1] In the early 1980s the De La Salle Brothers decided to redevelop the area and the Cable Station buildings were removed.

[3] The buildings are currently being used by The Southport School as their music department and are listed on the Gold Coast Local Heritage Register.