Ballina Suburb Overview
Ballina is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire Local Government Area. It had a population of 42,708 in the 2010 Census.
Ballina is on the Pacific Highway, and was established on the northern shore of the Richmond River near Cape Byron, Australia’s most easterly point, in the 1840s. It is approximately 750 km north of Sydney and 205 km south of Brisbane.
Ballina is situated on the mouth of the Richmond River, which was an important transport route for the region for the first 100 years after settlement. The river and its estuaries abound with marine wildlife and are used for recreational fishing and water sports.
A lighthouse, Richmond River Light, was first constructed in Ballina in 1866. The temporary lighthouse was replaced with the current one, designed by James Barnet, in 1879, and first lit in 1880. It is still active.
Ballina has a number of famous “landfalls” associated with it. In 1928, Charles Kingsford Smith ‘s plane, the Southern Cross, crossed the coast over Ballina after its epic journey across the Pacific Ocean. Ballina had a festival associated with the event during the 1970s and 1980s, and a school in East Ballina bears the name “Southern Cross”.
In 1973, the Las Balsas rafts were towed into Ballina by fishing trawlers after their journey from Ecuador. They had planned to arrive in Mooloolaba in Queensland, but currents forced them off their course. Their journey was almost twice as long as the Kon-Tiki expeditions of 1947 and proved that people could have travelled across the Pacific in ancient times.
A branch railway line connected Ballina with the Casino – Murwillumbah railway at Booyong. The line was opened on 24 August 1930 and closed on 12 January 1949.
Ballina’s etymology is not entirely certain. Some believe it was named directly after the Irish town of Ballina, although a more likely source is a Bundjalung word, “bullinah”, meaning “place of many oysters”. One possibility is that the Aboriginal name reminded the predominantly Irish settlers of “Ballina”, so the name’s origin could be an accidental or deliberate corruption of the Aboriginal form.
Ballina has a sister city agreement with its Irish namesake.
The population of Ballina Shire is estimated at 42,708 in the 2010 census.
There are four high schools in the town , five primary schools , a hospital and aged care facilities. Ballina is home to the world’s largest prawn .
Nearby Suburbs
