Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach was awarded Queensland’s Tidiest Town title in 2019, as well as the Cleanest beach title 2019 by Keep Queensland Beautiful.

History and Geography Facts

Airlie Beach, the vibrant mainland hub for your great barrier reef and Whitsundays Island and adventure. With 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.

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.

Local Government Information

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.

At the 2016 census, Airlie Beach had a population of 1,208 people, of whom 50.9% were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 9.2%. 71.2% of people only spoke English at home. The most common response for religion was No Religion at 34.7% of the population.

VOLUNTEER GROUPS

The town boasts an array of volunteer based, community focused groups including:

·      EYE OF THE REEF : Help to protect the reef whilst cruising the Whitsundays. One of the easiest ways to help manage the reef and is to join the Citizen Science movement and volunteer your time whilst out at work chartering in the Whitsundays, or on days off exploring the area.

·      ECO BARGE CLEAN SEAS : Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. is a not-for-profit environmental organization, established in Airlie Beach to engage the community to protect the marine life and aquatic environment of the Whitsunday region by removing marine and land-based litter to reduce its impacts, recycling and transforming ocean plastics to reduce landfill and providing care for sick and injured marine turtles.

·      TANGAROA BLUE: Tangaroa Blue is a not-for-profit dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris, one of the largest environmental issues worldwide. They have successfully created the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) a citizen science network that work on solutions to stop of the flow of litter at the source.

·      FAUNA RESCUE WHITESUNDAYS : Fauna Rescue Whitsundays are a not-for-profit, voluntary group who care for and rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife. They provide a 24 hour wildlife hotline service, give informative talks to schools and other interested community organisations and encourage the valuable participation of community members in all our activities.

·      WHITESUNDAYS SEAGRASS : Coral Sea Marina Resort is supporting local seagrass restoration, working with the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre at CQUniversity, Reef Catchments and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, by hosting a dedicated Seagrass Nursery within the marina (A arm)

·      WHITESUNDAYS CATCHMENT LANDCARE : Whitsunday Catchment Landcare is a community organisation comprised of various stakeholders including agriculture, community and business as well as individual community members. They plan towards environmental, economic and social sustainability within the Whitsunday catchment

THINGS TO DO

·      Admire dramatic coastal views with the Whitehaven beach and hill inlet lookout snorkeling cruise and get the chance to visit two top snorkeling spots on this Whitsunday Islands adventure.

·      Experience the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef without getting airlie glass-bottom boat tour. Ideal for kids, grandparents, and non-swimmers, the experience promises uninterrupted views tropical fish, amazing coral, turtles, and other sea life at the reefs near Airlie Beach.

·      Airlie Beach's Whisper cruise. Experience Mother Nature at her finest on our turtle spotting bay cruise. Embark on an extraordinary and environmentally responsible journey by stepping aboard Airlie Beach's most unique tour.

·      Sail the waters of the Whitsunday Islands like pioneers on the Whitesundays sunset sailing cruise of the past on a traditional gaff-rigged schooner. Take in the sunset over the islands and blue waters in the best possible way: from the deck of a boat.

·      Explore the bush and estuaries of wild whitesundays crocodile safari. Go croc-spotting on a Proserpine River cruise, and look for other wetlands wildlife on a tractor-pulled wagon tour.

Dine in and takeout

·      Café one 3

·      The belvedere at Toscana (Italian)

·      Fat frog beach café

·      Eastwoods Dining (Asian)

·      Village café Restaurant and bar

·      Anchor Bar (Australian)

·      The Deck (Pizza)

·      KC’s Grill and Bar (Australian)

·      Garuma café (American and European)

·      La Tabella Trattoria (Italian and Grill)