Burleigh Heads, Queensland


Burleigh Heads is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

Geography

The suburb boundary extends as far north as the Miami Headland in Miami, and as far south as Tallebudgera Creek at Palm Beach. To the north is Burleigh Waters, a suburb with a man-made lake, council parks and gardens. In the west of the suburb is the former township of West Burleigh, with shopping and industrial areas. The centre of the Burleigh beach neighborhood is James Street, which consists of cafes, delis, hairdressers, retailers, chemists, restaurants and charity stores.

Burleigh beach

The north-east facing beach is protected by the cape Burleigh Head to the south and offers one of the best swimming, body boarding and surfing beaches on the Gold Coast. A mature stand of Norfolk Island Pines – originally planted by the Justins family and reputably some of the earliest planted at the coast – and more recent plantings together totalling some 450 Norfolk Pines; form a backdrop and are home to native birds.
Burleigh Heads' surf break attracts surfers from the Gold Coast and beyond. At the headland of Burleigh, locally known as "The Point", barbecues and cricket matches are held, and spectators can watch the surfers. On Sunday afternoons, local musicians and fire-twirlers often come out to the park beside Burleigh SLSC for a jam and dance session.

History

inhabited the area of Burleigh Heads for thousands of years prior to European settlement. The Indigenous tribe were known as the Kombumerri clan, who had named the area 'Jellurgal'.
In 1840, James Warner was commissioned to survey the coastline near Moreton Bay. Warner named the headlands near Tallebudgera Creek, 'Burly Head' because of its massive appearance. Decades later the name was adapted to the more genteel spelling of 'Burleigh Heads' and was declared a town reserve by the Queensland Government in 1871.
On 2 July 1872 at the Lands Office in Beenleigh there was a sale of Crown land in the Town of Burleigh consisting of 65 suburban lots ranging from and 19 country lots ranging from on or near Tallebudgera Creek. On 2 April 1873 at the Lands Office in Beenleigh a further 40 suburban lots mostly about were offered for sale.
By 1873, the township had been surveyed, a number of the allotments sold and a track created connecting Burleigh Heads to Nerang. References to its magnificent beach were starting to appear and reports in newspapers suggested that Burleigh Heads' natural beauty had the potential to eclipse all other seaside locations in the region. However, despite the eventual sale of all the allotments in the township, by 1885, there was only one accommodation house run by Fredrick Fowler and very few, if any, privately owned houses. Further subdivisions and land sales took place in Burleigh during 1914, 1915, 1930, 1929 and 1947.
On 11 November 1879, the Queensland Government created 74 division of local government which saw Burleigh Heads zoned into the Nerang Division. On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government in South East Queensland an Order in Council replaced ten former local government areas between the City of Brisbane and the New South Wales border with four new local government areas. Despite being a part of the Nerang Shire prior to the reorganisation, Burleigh Heads was claimed by the newly created Town of South Coast, joining fellow coastline suburbs Southport and Coolangatta.
In January 1884, 278 subdivided allotments of the Burleigh Head North estate were auctioned by John Cameron, auctioneer. A map advertising the auction shows the estate to be fronting the Esplanade and close to the Nerang Creek.
The northern section appears to have been subdivided by the mid 1950s, but was the site of extensive sand mining in the following decades. The broad beachfront park is a legacy of that activity.
Burleigh township itself is much older and was the site of early development including restaurants and guest houses to support the increasing interest in bathing that took place in the last years of the 19th century and the first of the 20th century. It has been the centre of beach activities and a camping site for many years. The commercial centre of James and Conner Streets was established by the 1930s and began to boom during the postwar period.
The De Luxe Theatre was built by William Fradgley and opened on Wednesday 15 October 1930. It showed silent movies initially with its first "talkie" on Wednesday 9 September 1931, featuring the movies Paradise Island, Hot Curves and a "Mickey the Mouse" cartoon. It was also used for Catholic church services prior to the construction of the Infant Saviour Roman Catholic Church. World War II was a boom time for the cinema as there were camps for both Australian and American army personnel in the area. In February 1945 the Thams Brothers leased the De Luxe, purchasing it in 1950. Cyclonic winds damaged the cinema on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 February 1954, and it needed to be rebuilt. The Thams sold the cinema on 29 June 1966. The building gradually became derelict. It was converted in the 1970s into the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade, with shops, restaurants and offices. In August 2019, the complex and an adjacent building were sold for about $18.5 million, which the short-term intention of continuing its current operations but with a long-term view of redeveloping the site.
The Burleigh Library opened in 1993 and had a major refurbishment in 2010.
At the 2011 Census, Burleigh Heads had a population of 9,188.

Heritage listings

Burleigh Heads has a number of heritage-listed sites, including the David Fleay Wildlife Park and the West Burleigh Store, both located on Tallebudgera Creek Road.

Demographics

In the 2011 Census the population of Burleigh Heads is 9,188, 52.2% female and 47.8% male. The median/average age of the Burleigh Heads population is 40 years of age, 3 years above the Australian average. 69.3% of people living in Burleigh Heads were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 6.8%, England 4.6%, Brazil 0.9%, Scotland 0.8%, South Africa 0.6%. 85.2% of people speak English as their first language 0.8% Portuguese, 0.5% Italian, 0.4% German, 0.4% Japanese, 0.3% French.

Geology

The area of Burleigh Head was formed between 20 and 23 million years ago from molten lava due to numerous eruptions of Mount Warning. Flowing lava reached the shore in the area to form Burleigh headland and Point Danger. Geological processes that shaped the region resulted in a variety of different rock types, influencing the landscape, vegetation types and the animals they sustained. Queensland University geologists and students began coming to the area to collect specimens in the 1920s.

Ecology

Burleigh Headland is part of a wildlife corridor connecting coastal forests south to the Queensland New South Wales border ranges. Burleigh Ridge Park Reserve has a diverse habitat due to its geology. Conservation of the area has preserved many local plants that indigenous people would have used over 200 years ago. There are Eucalypt forest species favoured by Koalas. Other native wildlife include flying foxes, gliders and over 60 bird species.

Transport

travels along the eastern side of the suburb passing through the heart of suburb. Gold Coast highway connects Burleigh Heads with all the coastal suburbs on the Gold Coast. West Burleigh Road eventually becomes Reedy Creek Road after an intersection in front of Stocklands Burleigh Heads, connects the heart of the suburb with the Pacific Motorway and Varsity Lakes railway station.
Burleigh Heads is serviced by Translink services, a subsidiary of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, who operate an integrated ticketing system throughout South East Queensland. Burleigh Heads Bus stop is the main bus stop in the suburb, located on the Gold Coast Highway. A bus service connects Burleigh Heads with the Gold Coast Airport, Tweed Heads, Robina and Broadbeach.
Consultation is in process to extend the existing tram to Burleigh Beach from Broadbeach commencing in 2020.

Schools

There are several schools in the Burleigh area including two state primary schools, Caningeraba State School located in Burleigh Waters and Burleigh Heads State School. Burleigh Heads State School was established in 1917 as the Burleigh School, with its name changed to Burleigh Heads State School in 1927. It moved to its present site on the Lower Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads, in 1935.
There are no state high schools in Burleigh Heads with students attending Miami State High School or Elanora State High School.
The largest school in the area is Marymount College, a Catholic day school educating both boys and girls from Prep to Year 12. The school has over 2,000 students combined across the two campuses, Primary and Secondary, which are located on the corner of West Burleigh Rd and Bermuda St, Burleigh Waters.

Amenities

The Gold Coast City Council operate a public library at Fradgley Hall in Park Avenue.

Events

Burleigh Heads State School is home to The Village Markets. A bi-monthly event that promotes local emerging designers and artists.

Sport and recreation

Surfing