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Ballina is located on the north coast of New South Wales and is located at the mouth of the Richmond River, Ballina is a popular tourist destination. While the area was discovered in the early 1820's, it wasn't until 1840 that the area was used for logging and Ballina was surveyed as a port to ship timber to Sydney. By the end of the 1800's, sugar plantations had also been established.

Nowadays, the area is dominated by sugar cane, with tourism, dairying and fishing the other prominent industries. Ballina is pleasant to visit - has a busy main street with a strong shopping precinct, warm climate and many great long beaches. The town is renowned for the Big Prawn (southern entrance to town), various cycleways (extremely flat terrain), the Naval & Maritime Museum and the Macadamia Castle (10km north at Knockrow).

The name Ballina is of Aboriginal origin meaning "place where oysters are plentiful".

• Population: 16 506 1
• Postcode: 2478
• Location: 779km north of Sydney, 198km south of Brisbane
• Main Roads: Pacific Hwy M1 and Bruxner Hwy B60
• Radio Stations: FM: 2KY Racing (88.0 MHz), ABC North Coast (94.5 MHz), ABC Classic (95.3 MHz), ABC Radio National (96.9 MHz), ABC News on Radio (98.5 MHz), Paradise FM (101.9 MHz), Three Angels Broadcasting Network (87.6 MHz) Triple J (96.1 MHz) and ZZZ FM (100.9 MHz). AM: 2LM (900 KHz)

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Preview:	Description:
	Big Prawn: The big prawn on River St (former Pacific Hwy) at West Ballina, October 2018. The Big Prawn used to be on top of the Caltex Roadhouse that once stood in this location, and at one point was at risk of being demolished. Eventually Bunnings restored it and incorporated it into their then new store. Image © Paul Rands
	Ballina CBD: River Street in the Ballina CBD, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade
	River Street & Cherry Street: Ballina CBD  from the River St and Cherry St roundabout, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade
	River Street & Cherry Street: Ballina CBD  from the River St and Cherry St roundabout, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Ballina CBD: River Street in the Ballina CBD, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Shelly Beach: Northerly view of Shelly Beach and Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Ballina town centre, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Shelly Beach: View of Shelly Beach and Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Ballina town centre, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Shelly Beach: Southerly view of Shelly Beach to the northeast of Ballina town centre, October 2014. Image © Michael Greenslade

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016 Census QuickStats

Last updated: 21-Aug-2020 23:35

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