Evans Head, New South Wales

Evans Head is a town in Richmond Valley Council of the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, Evans Head had a population of 2,843 people.[1] It is 726 kilometres north of Sydney, and 11 kilometres east off the Pacific Highway from Woodburn.

Evans Head
New South Wales
Storm on the horizon, Evans Head, 2017
Evans Head
Coordinates29°07′S 153°26′E
Population2,843 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)2473
Elevation6 m (20 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Richmond Valley Council
CountyRichmond
State electorate(s)Clarence
Federal Division(s)Page

History

Evans Head is named after a marine surveyor, Lt Evans, RN who carried out the first marine survey of the coastline in the area.[2]

Heritage listings

Evans Head has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 2,843 people in Evans Head.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.5% of the population.
  • 85.0% of people were born in Australia and 90.7% of people spoke only English at home.
  • The most common responses for religion were No Religion 29.0%, Anglican 21.9% and Catholic 20.9%.[1]

Attractions

It is a coastal town and a holiday resort, playing host to one of the largest holiday parks in NSW. It is sandwiched between Bundjalung National Park and Broadwater National Park. There is a wide curved beach that is popular for fishing, surfing and swimming.

Evans Head is home to the Illawong Hotel, an RSL club and one of the largest holiday parks in NSW, parts of which are pet friendly. The Evans Head Holiday Park (formerly known as 'Silver Sands Caravan Park' ) has almost 600 sites and is located within walking distance of all the town amenities. The town has two supermarkets, two butchers, a number of clothing stores, cafes and other eateries that cater for the tourist population. Whilst the population is less than 3,000 people that number swells in school holidays.

The 1874 wreck of a timber schooner, Pilot, is visible on the beach north of the town in times of high erosion.[4] The aerodrome hosts one of the few retired F-111 aircraft in Australia and a museum with a number of authentic aircraft on display.

Transport
Fairey Battle aircraft, 1941

The town's airport, the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome, formerly a RAAF base is heritage listed.

Northern Rivers Buslines operates two routes from Lismore, the 690 and 695, where the 695 also continues to Grafton from Evans Head. Ballina Buslines operates one route to Ballina via Woodburn, the 660.

NSW Trainlink operates a daily coach between Grafton and Byron Bay via Evans Head.

Sport

The town has a bowling club and surf club. Evans Head Bombers rugby league club was established in 1999 and draws players from Broadwater, Woodburn and Coraki. The club fields junior and senior teams in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League competition. Golf is played at the Woodburn-Evans Head course with 11 holes and 18 tees.

Industry

The town was traditionally a fishing village, with snapper fishing and prawning forming the basis of the town's local economy. There is a prawn fishing fleet permanently moored in the estuary.

The main industry today is tourism with sugar cane growing just inland from the town. The town has a small industrial estate near the airport.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Evans Head (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 January 2019. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  2. "Evans Head". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  3. "Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01649. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. "Shipwrecks exposed". Mid Coast Observer. Rural Press. 5 August 2009. p. 6.
  • Sturt, Charles,'Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia during the years 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831 with Observations on the Soil, Climate and general Resources of the Colony of New South Wales,' Vol 1 London, Smith Elder and Co, 1833, map facing LXXX Map is titled: Map of the Discoveries in Australia copied from the latest M. S. Surveys in the Colonial Office, 16 Feb 1832, London, J. Arrowsmith.

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