Bingil Bay

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. In 1921, an overland connection was created from El Arish (a distance of away) but it was only usable by a dray and the journey took most of the day. 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. The Bingil Bay Lifesaving Club opened in 1936. 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. The cottage did not have a telephone.

Geography

The locality of Bingil Bay is bounded to the east by the bay of the same name with Ninney Point () on the north-east coast. 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.

Most-observed species

• Australasian Figbird

  Sphecotheres vieilloti Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  1,096
• Helmeted Friarbird

  Philemon buceroides (Swainson, 1838) · Aves
  961
• Black Butcherbird

  Melloria quoyi (R.P.Lesson & Garnot, 1827) · Aves
  960
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  941
• Bush Thick-knee

  Burhinus grallarius (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  923
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  882
• Metallic Starling

  Aplonis metallica (Temminck, 1824) · Aves
  763
• Torresian Imperial-Pigeon

  Ducula spilorrhoa (G.R.Gray, 1858) · Aves
  754

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2011-03-15
  30 km NE of Innisfail Estate, Australia