Bilinga is a southern 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. At the 2011 Census, Bilinga had a population of 1,662.
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.
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 lead to the establishment of the Bilinga Surf Lifesaving Club in 1938.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Bilinga recorded a population of 1,662 people, 48.9% female and 51.1% male. The median age of the Bilinga population was 43 years, 6 years above the national median of 37. 71.5% of people living in Bilinga were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 5.6%, England 3.2%, Scotland 0.7%, Germany 0.5%, United States of America 0.5%. 84.5% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.7% Japanese, 0.5% German, 0.4% Fijian, 0.2% Finnish, 0.2% Greek.
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.
Bilinga - 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.