Airlie Beach

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. 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 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.

Geography

Airlie Beach is one of many departure points for the Great Barrier Reef. Cruise ships visit the area, anchoring offshore while passengers are transported via ship's tender to the marina. The Proserpine–Shute Harbour Road (State Route 59) passes through the locality from west to east.

Most-observed species

• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  448
• Australasian Figbird

  Sphecotheres vieilloti Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  410
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  383
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  350
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  350
• Bush Thick-knee

  Burhinus grallarius (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  321
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  314
• Peaceful Dove

  Geopelia placida Gould, 1844 · Aves
  278

Most recent

• M 5 — 2020-04-15
  32 km NNW of Whitsundays, Australia
• M 4.3 — 2016-08-18
  50 km N of Whitsundays, Australia
• M 4 — 2016-08-18
  43 km N of Whitsundays, Australia
• M 5.7 — 2016-08-18
  37 km NNW of Whitsundays, Australia