Airlie Beach is a coastal

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

and

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

in the Whitsunday Region of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , Airlie Beach had a population of 1,312 people.

Geography

Airlie Beach is one of many departure points for the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. Cruise ships visit the area, anchoring offshore while passengers are transported via

ship's tender A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat or ship used to service or support other boats or ships. This is generally done by transporting people or supplies to and from shore or another ship. A second and distinctly different ...

to the marina. Near latitude 20 degrees south, Airlie Beach, Proserpine and the nearby

Whitsunday Islands The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands ar ...

enjoy a tropical climate and lifestyle. The Proserpine–Shute Harbour Road (State Route 59) passes through the locality from west to east. Each year the residents of Airlie Beach celebrate The Blessing of the Fleet on

Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Ho ...

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

Sunday.

History

The name derived from the former town of Airlie and unbounded locality of Airlie Beach. Airlie was named following a request by the Lands Department in December 1935 for the Proserpine Shire Council to provide a name for a new sub-division on the coast. It is almost certain that the town was named for the parish of Airlie, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, as the name was suggested by the chairman of the former Proserpine Shire Council, Robert Shepherd, who was born in nearby Montrose, Scotland. The official name was Airlie from 1936 until 1987, when it was amalgamated into the larger town of

while Airlie Beach became the official name of the locality. Airlie Beach Post Office opened on 2 November 1959. In December 1956, 18 allotments were offered for auction as Perpetual Town Leases by the Department of Public Lands office. The map advertising the auction states the allotments were situated approximately 15 miles north-east of Proserpine.

Busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

was made legal in June 2010 through an adopted draft policy created by Whitsunday Regional Council. In the 2010s, there were several shark attacks off the coast of Airlie Beach. In 2018, there were 2 near fatal attacks and another attack occurred on 29 October 2019. Airlie Beach has a high number of residents working in the tourism and hospitality industries and in 2020 the town was named one of the most likely Australian towns to suffer for the longest from the economic downturn caused by the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.

Demographics

At the , the locality of Airlie Beach had a population of 1,208. 50.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 9.2%. 71.2% of people only spoke English at home. The most common response for religion was No Religion at 34.7% of the population. In the , Airlie Beach had a population of 1,312 people.

Education

There are no schools in Airlie Beach. The nearest government primary school is Cannonvale State School in neighbouring Cannonvale to the west. The nearest government secondary school is Proserpine State High School in Proserpine to the south-west.

Facilities

There are two marinas in Airlie Beach: * Coral Sea Marina () * Port of Airlie Marina () There are two boat ramps, both managed by the Whitsunday Regional Council: * at Abel Point off Shingley Drive () * at Port of Airlie () Airlie Beach Water Police Station is at 38 Shingley Drive (). The station's area of responsibility extends from Cape Upstart to north to

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

to the south.

Events

Annually, The Great Barrier Reef Festival is held in Airlie Beach and includes attractions ranging from fireworks on the foreshore to live music by local artists. The event is hosted by local company Cruise Whitsundays. In November each year, the Airlie Beach Festival of Music is held in the area and spans over multiple days. The event includes both Australian and international musicians that play throughout the festival. In September 2024 the Whitsundays Writers Festival returned after a seven year hiatus.(7 August 2024)
Whitsundays Writers Festival returns
Retrieved on 8 February 2025. Airlie Beach Pathway

References

External links

*
Aerial film footage of Queensland places

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

. Contains aerial footage of Airlie Beach {{authority control Coastline of Queensland Seaside resorts in Australia Beaches of Queensland Whitsunday Region Localities in Queensland