Bilinga, Queensland


Bilinga is a southern coastal suburb of City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border with New South Wales to the west and has the Pacific Ocean to the east.

History

The word "Bilinga" is derived from the word "Bilinba", meaning bats. The name was adopted in 1918 as a place name for Crown lands north of Coolangatta.
In February 1908, 5 land portions were advertised to be open for selection as agricultural farms and unconditional selections by the Department of Public Lands office. The map advertising the selection, surveyed by J.H.Jensen, shows the portions 84 to 88 situated between the Brisbane to Tweed Heads railway in the north and the tick fence to the south.
Bilinga was located on the Nerang Tweed Railway line. After the land sales, a rail siding was created in 1919.
After 1919, the catalyst for an increase in development was said to be the erection of a general store, owned by businessman Percy Hanzel, near the rail siding. Furthermore, increased development could be attributed to a new coastal road, which improved access to the area for holiday makers and residents.
The drowning of a man on Bilinga Beach in 1937 led to the establishment of the Bilinga Surf Lifesaving Club in 1938.
At the 2011 Census, Bilinga had a population of 1,662.

Demographics

In the 2016 census, Bilinga recorded a population of 1,804 people. The median age of the Bilinga population was 47 years, 9 years above the national median of 38. 66.8% of people were born in Australia and 78.2% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 27.5% and Catholic 21.5%.

Bilinga Surf Life Saving Club

Established in 1938, Bilinga SLSC members patrol the beach on weekends and public holidays from September to May each year.

Gold Coast Airport

The Gold Coast Airport is located at 1 Eastern Avenue Bilinga. Despite being situated in Bilinga and across the border into Tweed Heads West, New South Wales, the airport is also known as Coolangatta Airport, presumably because Coolangatta is better known than Bilinga.

Notable people

Notable people from or who have lived in Bilinga include: