Town in Queensland, Australia. Sharing a border with the state capital Brisbane, and sandwiched on a narrow strip of land between Brisbane and Redcliffe. It consists of six suburbs, Sandgate Central, Shorncliffe, Deagon, Bracken Ridge, Brighton and Taigum. Population of approximately 30,000 souls.
The town itself was founded in 1823 as a seaside resort of sorts, a holiday town close to Brisbane for the use of middle class people in need of a holiday. A major factor leading to the growth of the town was the construction in the 1860s of two large hotel buildings, Osbourne's (now The Full Moon) and Baxter's, which became famous throughout Queensland for its beautiful seafood. Interestingly, both of these establishments still exist in one form or another. Another factor which greatly helped the town increase in size was the construction of Sandgate Railway Station in 1883.
In the early 1900s, the town was assimilated into the new Greater Brisbane area. However, as it was out on the borders of the new city, residents staged a campaign to re-establish the town as a seperate local goverment area. The campaign was partially successful, while Brisbane still provides a lot of public infrastructure throughout the town, a town council officially runs the town, and contracts most public works services from the Brisbane City Council.
As for things to do in Sandgate, its probably not a place that young people are going to go out of their way to visit. There is no night life to speak of, no nightclubs, and no big tourist attractions, although there are commercial precincts at Sandgate Central and Taigum. There is a lot of old colonial style buildings about the place, and extensive wetland areas, such as Tinchi Tamba which lie within town borders. A good thing is that its only a short train ride into Brisbane, maybe thirty minutes on the CityTrain. There are some nice pubs and bars though if you're looking for an old-fashioned Australian drinking experience. I personally suggest the Rum Jungle, formerly knows at the Tabernacle, located in Bracken Ridge.
The town hsa two public high schools, Sandgate High and Bracken Ridge High. Sandgate High is the larger of the two, and has something of a tough reputation, although from my five years there I think thats a pretty unfair and exaggerated reputation. There are no universities in the town, although QUT has its Carseldine campus just over on the Brisbane side of the border. There is a TAFE college run by North Point on Norris Road in Bracken Ridge.
All in all, a nice quiet, sleepy town, which might lack excitement, but still a fairly nice place to grow up in.