Iluka is a small village at the mouth of the Clarence River in north-eastern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is situated directly across the river from the resort town of Yamba. At the 2021 census, Iluka had a population of 1,764 people. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'near the sea', the name was likely derived from the

Dhanggati language Dhanggati (Dunghutti, Thangatti), previously known as Dyangadi (Djangadi), is the Australian Aboriginal language once spoken by the Djangadi of the Macleay Valley and surrounding high country of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales. Th ...

term 'yiluga'. The

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of this area are the Yaegl people. Iluka has a number of long beaches on the ocean side of the river and it is reached by turning off the Pacific Highway approximately north of Maclean.

Nature

Iluka Nature Reserve

The area hosts a

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

-listed

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

, one of the last remaining littoral rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere, containing many different plant species ranging from coastal dune species to tropical rainforest species. The Iluka rainforest has a vast range of native animal species ranging from

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

and kangaroos to

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...

s and

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

Flying foxes

A birthing colony features the Grey-headed Flying Fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') and the

Black Flying-fox The black flying fox or black fruit bat (''Pteropus alecto'') is a bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is among the largest bats in the world, but is considerably smaller than the largest species in its genus, ''Pteropus''. The black flying fox ...

(''Pteropus alecto''), both species listed as vulnerable to extinction. At night in October through to January, mothers can be seen flying out to feed at night with their babies.

Industries

The fishing community has many commercial fishing industries, ranging from the oceangoing prawn and whiting trawlers to the river netters and trawlers. The river and beach netters can be seen hauling in mullet during the end of autumn. Iluka is also a popular recreational fishing destination. Inside Iluka Bay is the Clarence River Fishermen's Co-op which provides a service to the commercial fishermen. The CRFC sells and transports the fresh seafood locally, regionally, nationally and globally. The Iluka Depot consists of a factory, retail shop and a chandlery shop for the fishermen and other consumers. The town has two clubs and a public hotel, the Iluka Bowling Club, Iluka Golf Club, and Sedgers Reef Hotel. The bowling club has three bowling greens and a Chinese restaurant. The golf club has a ten-hole course and a small restaurant.

Schools

The Iluka Public School serves the area.

Sport

The Iluka Oval is positioned in the centre of town. It was originally used primarily as a cricket ground, and after Ken Leeson's help to construct another field, the oval was named the Ken Leeson Oval. It contains two cricket pitches, synthetic and turf, two tennis courts, a netball/ basketball court and a soccer/rugby union field. Competitive sport includes

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, 'The Cossacks'

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

side,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, a

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

team, and the Iluka Boardriders Club.

Newspapers

The local newspaper is th
Clarence Valley Independent
which services the whole of the Clarence Valley.

References

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Northern Rivers Coastal towns in New South Wales Clarence Valley Council