Billinudgel is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and is part of Byron Shire.[2] The Murwillumbah railway line once passed through the town and a railway station was opened there in 1894.[3][4]
| Billinudgel New South Wales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Shops in Wilfred Street—Billinudgel's main street | |||||||||
  Billinudgel | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 28°30′S 153°32′E / 28.500°S 153.533°E | ||||||||
| Population | 261 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||
| • Density | 30.15/km2 (78.09/sq mi) | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2483 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 2 m (7 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | 8.657 km2 (3.3 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Byron Shire Council | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ballina | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Richmond | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The area was bypassed by a heavily upgraded Pacific Highway in July 2007, home to the NSW RFS Billinudgel/Ocean Shores Brigade from 1976.[5][6]
The Traditional Owners of this land are the Minjungbal people of the Bundjalung Nation.[7][8]
Place name
editThe name Billinudgel is derived from Bundjalung Bilihnadhihl, meaning "once belonged to a parrot" or "place of the king parrot".[9][10][11][12] During the period of early European settlement it was also referred to as Billy Nudgel and Billy Mooghill and spelling variations carried on for many years.[11][13]
History
editEuropean settlement began in Billinudgel in the 1840s and consisted mainly of "cedar-getters: that harvested and milled cedar trees which where then rafted down the Brunswick River to Brunswick Heads where they were then shipped to Sydney.[8]
Construction of the Murwillumbah railway line began is 1884 and, due to the influx of workers on the railway line, the population of the area increased and this prompted the construction of the towns first hotel, The Tramway Hotel which was constructed in 1892.[8][14] This hotel would later burn down in 1898 and, after reconstruction, again in September 1906.[15][16] In 1914 the hotel would be renamed as The New Brighton Hotel and the The Billinudgel Hotel in 1995.[8]
The Billinudgel Public School was also opened there in 1893 and it closed in 1993.[17][11]
Work in the Bullinudgel area of the railway was completed in December 1894 when the Billinudgel railway station was completed which led to a rapid decline in population in the immediate aftermath.[3][4] Despite this the introduction of the railway line did lead to increased employment opportunities and the variety of work available as goods could easily be transported from the area and many local farmers began dairy farming and, from the 1920s, banana farming.[8]
The Billinudgel railway station closed on 11 November 1980 as demand decreased.[8]
Gallery
edit-
Wilfred Street, approaching the town centre -
A private residence in Wilfred Street -
Billinudgel Hotel
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Billinudgel". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Our Region". Byron Shire. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Murwillumbah Branch". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Billinudgel Station". www.nswrail.net. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "An iconic journey: Pacific Highway upgrade 1996 -2020" (PDF). Pacific Highway NSW. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Pacific Highway (Section: Brunswick Heads to Yelgun". www.ozroads.com.au. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Aboriginal & Torres Strait Communities". www.byron.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "History". Billinudgel Hotel. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Sharpe, Margaret. "Bundjalung". Macquarie Aboriginal Words. Sydney: Macquarie Library. p. 21.
- ^ "Billinudgel". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ a b c Brunswick Valley Historical Society Inc (2019), Labels and landmarks : the many meanings of Brunswick Valley place names, Brunswick Valley Historical Society Inc, pp. 20–22, ISBN 978-0-9585921-9-2
- ^ "Sol Bellear". NSW Aboriginal Land Council. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Parish of Billinudgel, County of Rous [cartographic material] : Land District of Murwillumbah, Byron & Tweed Shires & Mullumbimby Municipality". Trove. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Licensing Burisness Tweed District". Northern Star. Vol. 17. New South Wales, Australia. 22 October 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 26 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Hotel burned down at Billinudgel". Northern Star. Vol. 31. New South Wales, Australia. 12 September 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 26 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Murwillumbah District". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LXIII, no. 15, 188. Queensland, Australia. 15 September 1906. p. 11. Retrieved 26 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Gardiner, Harvey; Timms, Terry (1993), Billinudgel Public School, 1893-1993 : the first one hundred years, Billinudgel Centenary Committee, ISBN 978-0-646-13603-5
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