Bingil Bay, Queensland Explained

Type:town
Bingil Bay
State:qld
Coordinates:-17.8316°N 146.0969°W
Pop:438
Postcode:4852
Area:4.7
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:6.8
Dir1:NNW
Location1:Mission Beach
Dist2:31.0
Dir2:S
Location2:Tully
Dist3:49.3
Dir3:S
Location3:Innisfail
Dist4:137
Dir4:S
Location4:Cairns
Dist5:1569
Dir5:NNW
Location5:Brisbane
Lga:Cassowary Coast Region
Stategov:Hill
Fedgov:Kennedy
Near-N:Garners Beach
Near-Ne:Coral Sea
Near-E:Coral Sea
Near-Se:Coral Sea
Near-S:Djiru
Near-Sw:Djiru
Near-W:Djiru
Near-Nw:Midgeree Bar

Bingil Bay is a coastal town, locality and bay in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] [2] [3] In the, the locality of Bingil Bay had a population of 438 people.

Geography

The locality of Bingil Bay is bounded to the east by the bay of the same name with Ninney Point (-17.8333°N 146.1°W) on the north-east coast.[4] A long sandy beach extends south from Ninney Point along the coastline. The town is in the south-eastern corner of the locality.

The land use is a mixture of residential, growing tropical fruit), and grazing on native vegetation.

History

The name Bingil is believed to be an Aboriginal word meaning a good camping ground given to the area by Frederick Cutten, a pioneer settler in the area.[3]

In 1884, the Cutten brothers (Frederick, Leonard, Sydney and James) established the first commercial tea plantation in Australia on their Bicton estate at Bingil Bay, also growing coffee, mangoes, bananas, pineapples and other tropical fruit. At that time, Bingil Bay was only accessible by boat.[5] [6] Most of the Bicton estate was destroyed by a cyclone in 1918 and although the homestead was rebuilt the remainder of the estate was never restored. The descendants of the original tea plants were rediscovered in the rain-forest by Dr Allan Maruff in 1958 and seedlings from these plants formed the basis for the Nerada Tea plantations.[7]

In 1921, an overland connection was created from El Arish (a distance of 10km (10miles) away) but it was only usable by a dray and the journey took most of the day.

The area was formerly known as Clump Point (the name of a nearby headland) until 1929 when a post office called Bingal Bay was established.[8]

On 9 July 1936, the road from El Arish to Bingil Bay was finally completed, reducing the travel time to 30 minutes. It was officially opened by Percy Pease, the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Herbert.[9] [10]

The Bingil Bay Lifesaving Club opened in 1936.[11]

Around 1966, then Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Holt and his wife Zara Holt, owned a holiday cottage they called "The Shack" at Bingil Bay. It sat high on the hill with views as far as Dunk Island. The couple were keen spearfishers.[12] The cottage did not have a telephone.[13]

Demographics

In the, the locality of Bingil Bay had a population of 369 people.

In the, the locality of Bingil Bay had a population of 427 people.

In the, the locality of Bingil Bay had a population of 438 people.

Heritage listings

Bingil Bay has the following heritage sites:

Education

There are no schools in Bingil Bay. The nearest government primary schools are Mission Beach State School in Wongaling Beach to the south and El Arish State School in El Arish to the west. The nearest government secondary school is Tully State High School in Tully to the south-west.

Amenities

Bingil Bay Cafe has meals and basic groceries. It is at 39 Bingil Bay Road .[16]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. 16 December 2017.
  2. 16 December 2017.
  3. 16 December 2017.
  4. 26 December 2020.
  5. Web site: The History of Tea. Nerada Tea. 20 April 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140421064225/http://www.neradatea.com.au/the-history-of-tea. 21 April 2014. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: Bingil Bay. Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. 20 April 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140420083203/http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/bingil-bay. 20 April 2014. dmy-all.
  7. Book: Taylor, R.J.. The lost plantation : a history of the Australian tea industry. G.K. Bolton. 1982. 0909920168. Cairns.
  8. News: WHAT'S IN A NAME?. . . Qld. . 25 January 1929 . 20 April 2014 . 4 . National Library of Australia . 3 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210403072507/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40656503 . live .
  9. News: BINGIL BAY ROAD. . . Qld. . 10 July 1936 . 20 April 2014 . 8 . National Library of Australia . 3 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210403072437/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41741045 . live .
  10. News: NORTHERN ROAD OPENED. . . Brisbane . 10 July 1936 . 20 April 2014 . 19 . National Library of Australia . 3 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210403072446/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38468829 . live .
  11. News: Opening Bingil Bay Life Saving Club. . . Qld. . 4 December 1936 . 20 April 2014 . 3 . National Library of Australia . 3 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210403072509/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41781071 . live .
  12. News: AT BEAUTIFUL BINGIL BAY. . . 23 November 1966 . 20 April 2014 . 10 . National Library of Australia . 3 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210403072543/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47813716 . live .
  13. News: McMahon, the man behind the Federal Budget. . . 13 August 1966 . 20 April 2014 . 2 . National Library of Australia . 3 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210403072446/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107886828 . live .
  14. 1 August 2014.
  15. Web site: Cutten Brothers' Graves. live. 2021-04-03. Heritage Explorer. Queensland Government. 24 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190324164121/https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/explorer/detail/?id=639354.
  16. Web site: Bingil Bay. live. 2021-04-03. Holiday Here Mission Beach. 4 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210304185253/http://holidayheremissionbeach.com.au/bingil-bay-mission-beach.php.