Ballina, New South Wales

Ballina's etymology is not entirely certain. One view holds that it is a corruption of a clan name for the Bullina band of the Arakwal.[4] It has been argued that in this tribe's Bundjalung language, bullinah meant "place of many oysters". This theory argues that the Aboriginal name reminded the predominantly Irish settlers of "Ballina", so the name's origin could be an accidental or deliberate corruption of the Aboriginal form. Another view is that towns's name comes from the Irish placename Ballina (Béal an Átha, "mouth of the ford"), which is found in several parts of Ireland.

Ballina was established in the 1840s on the northern shore of the Richmond River, 20 kilometres south of Cape Byron, Australia's most easterly point. A lighthouse, Richmond River Light, was first constructed in Ballina in 1866, which served as a significant port in the region. The temporary lighthouse was replaced with the current one, designed by James Barnet, in 1879, and first lit in 1880. It is still active.[5] A branch railway line connected Ballina with the Murwillumbah railway line railway at Booyong. The line was opened on 24 August 1930 and closed on 12 January 1949.[6]

Ballina has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 37 Norton Street: Brundah[10]

It is approximately 600 km (373 mi) north of Sydney and 160 km (99 mi) south of Brisbane. Ballina is a coastal town and is connected to the Pacific Highway which now bypasses it.

The Richmond River was an important transport route for the region for the first 100 years after settlement. The river and its estuaries abound with marine wildlife and provide for recreational fishing and water sports.

The population of Ballina township was 16,506 at the 2016 Census [11] (representing 39 percent of the Ballina Shire population of 41,790).[12] The urban area had a population of 26,381, which includes Lennox Head and other suburban areas.[1]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.3% of the population; compared with the national and state average of 2.9%.[13]

The most common ancestries in the area were English 31.2%, Australian 28.3%, Irish 10.9%, Scottish 8.7% and German 3.2%. 81.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 3.4%, New Zealand 1.7%, Scotland 0.5% and South Africa 0.4%. 13.3% of people had both parents born overseas. 88.7% of people only spoke English at home.[13]

The most common responses for religion in the area were No Religion 30.2%, Catholic 23.0% and Anglican 19.6%.[13]

The median household income was estimated to be A$1,093 per week; with the median mortgage repayments estimated at A$1,733 per month; and median rent estimated at A$345 per week. The average number of motor vehicles was 1.6 per dwelling.[13]

Ballina serves as a tourism gateway to the close by destinations of Lismore and Byron Bay. The town has access to several beaches, such as Shelley's Beach, and to historical sites such as the Ballina Manor and the Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum, however its most famous landmark is undoubtedly the 'Big Prawn'.

The Big Prawn, prior the destruction of the building supporting it.

Ballina is home to the world's largest prawn model (made of concrete and fibreglass).[14] On 24 September 2009, Ballina Shire Council voted to allow the demolition of the Big Prawn,[15] but this permission was never acted upon. Bunnings Warehouse purchased the site and refurbished the Prawn as part of the redevelopment. The Prawn now sits on a stand next to the entrance of the Bunnings Warehouse car park.[16][17] In March 2018, Google Maps' facial recognition software blurred out the facial area of the Prawn, first noticed on Reddit Australia,[18] and later reported in The Sydney Morning Herald.[19]

The town of Ballina experiences a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), typical of the central part of Australia's eastern coast. Summers are sultry, humid and rainy, with approximately 40% of the town's total annual precipitation occurring from December to March, with March being the wettest month of the year, receiving an average of 215.6 mm (8.488 in) of precipitation. Ballina's annual precipitation total observes a considerably higher concentration in the first half of the year (January–June) than the second half of the year (July–December). Ballina's wetness is due to the town's coastal location and proximity to Cape Byron, the easternmost point in Australia, which means that exposure to moisture-laden frontal systems that develop throughout the year in the Tasman Sea follows accordingly. Ballina experiences a copious 1,817.9 mm (71.6 in) of precipitation annually, which is one of the highest annual precipitation levels to be found along the eastern coast of Australia south of the tropical coast of northern Queensland. The all-time highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the town are 42 °C (107.6 °F) and −2.0 °C (28.4 °F) on 12 January 2002 and 17 June 1999 respectively.

The Northern Rivers Echo is a free weekly community newspaper with 27,000 copies distributed to Lismore, Alstonville, Wollongbar, Ballina, Casino, Nimbin and Evans Head. The Northern Star is a tabloid newspaper based in Lismore. It covers the region from Casino to Ballina and up to Murwillimbah and Byron Bay, covering a population of several hundred thousand.

Ballina receives channels from SBS and ABC and the regional affiliates of Prime7, NBN Television and WIN Television.

The commercial radio stations in the area are Triple Z (Hit Music) and 2LM 900 AM. Both are run by Broadcast Operations Group. The community radio station is Paradise FM 101.9.[21] Other radio stations are Triple J 96.1 FM, ABC Radio National 96.9 FM, ABC Classic FM 95.3 and ABC North Coast 94.5 FM.

There are four high schools in the town (Emmanuel Anglican College, Richmond Christian College, Ballina Coast High School and Xavier Catholic College), five primary schools (Ballina Public School, Emmanuel Anglican College, Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Richmond Christian College, St. Francis Xavier Primary School and Southern Cross School), a hospital and aged care facilities.

The Ballina Seagulls is the local rugby league club that competes in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League competition.

The Ballina Seahorses is the rugby union club that competes in the Far North Coast Rugby zone.

There is also a cricket competition with clubs such as the Ballina Bears and Tintenbar-East Ballina competing at both the district and regional (LJ Hooker League) level.

• Mitchell Aubusson, Sydney Roosters NRL player
• Simon Baker, actor
• Dustin Clare, actor
• Nathan Crosswell, basketball player
• Declan Curran, rugby union player
• Dustin Dollin, professional skateboarder
• George Martin, mayor of Ballina
• Hunter Poon, cricketer
• Kerry Saxby-Junna[24] Saxby competed with the Ballina Athletic Club; the "Kerry Saxby Pathway" runs past the Olympic Pool and Waterslide to the Naval and Maritime Museum

Ballina is twinned with:[25]

• Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland
• Matamata-Piako District, Waikato, New Zealand

• 
  Boats on the Richmond River at Ballina
• 
  Ballina beaches
• 
  The Las Balsa raft at the Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum
• 
  Riversleigh, Ballina
• 
  Wigmore Arcade
• 
  Missingham Bridge crossing North Creek from Ballina to East Ballina.
• 
  Richmond River Prawn Trawler

• MV Limerick (1925)

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ballina (New South Wales).

• Media related to Ballina, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
• Ballina Shire Council