According to my copy of the Peterson Field Guide to Stars and Planets, I quote, "The 5th-magnitude star sigma Octanis, lying within 1 degree of the south celestial pole, is the southern pole star. Though it is very inconspicuous compared with Polaris and lacks the Pointers and Little Dipper that make Polaris easy to find, sigma Oct is easily visible to the naked eye in a dark sky."
I had to do this research because, as an active deepsky observer, I have never observed the celestial south pole and I've only observed the sky as far south as is visible from southern NJ.