Bells Creek, Queensland

Not to be confused with Bells Creek (Blacktown, New South Wales) or Bella Creek, Queensland.

Bells Creek is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2] In the 2021 census, Bells Creek had a population of 343 people.^[1]

Bells Creek Queensland
Bells Creek
Coordinates	26.8286°S 153.0780°E / -26.8286; 153.0780 (Bells Creek (centre of locality))
Population	343 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	42.3/km2 (109.7/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4551
Area	8.1 km2 (3.1 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	9.2 km (6 mi) SW of Caloundra 29.1 km (18 mi) SSE of Nambour 88.1 km (55 mi) N of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Sunshine Coast Region
County	Canning
Parish	Bribie
State electorate(s)	Caloundra
Federal division(s)	Fisher
Suburbs around Bells Creek: Baringa Baringa Caloundra West Nirimba Bells Creek Pelican Waters Banya Gagalba Coochin Creek Coochin Creek

Geography

Bells Creek is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of Caloundra. The Bruce Highway traverses the locality from the south-west to the north-west. Most of the land is freehold and used for farming. The Mooloolah River National Park is in the north-western corner of the locality. The south-western corner of the locality forms part of the Beerwah State Forest.^[3]

History

The locality takes its name from the creek, which in turn was named after Mary Alice Bell (later Eglington) who bought Portion 29 south of the creek. She was the governess of the children of explorer and pioneer William Landsborough. The creek had previously been known as Kelaher Creek and by the Indigenous people as Tooringoor.^[4]

On 18 August 2017, the north-eastern part of Bells Creek was excised to create the locality of Baringa to accommodate future suburban growth in the Caloundra South Priority Development Area.^[5][6]

On 14 June 2019, the localities of Bells Creek and Meridan Plains were again excised to the localities of Banya, Corbould Park, Gagalba and Nirimba to accommodate future suburban growth in the Caloundra South Priority Development Area.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Bells Creek had a population of 317 people.^[14] The population was 52.1% female and 47.9% male. The median age of the Bells Creek population was 32 years, 5 years below the national median of 37. 79.6% of people living in Bells Creek were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 3.8%, England 3.5%, Scotland 1.9%, Samoa 1.9%, United States of America 1.6%. 89.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.9% Arabic, 1.3% Afrikaans.^[14]

In the 2016 census, Bells Creek had a population of 94 people.^[15]

In the 2021 census, Bells Creek had a population of 343 people. This included the populations of neighbouring newly created localities of Banya and Gagalba.^[1]

Education

There are no schools in Bells Creek. The nearest government primary schools are Baringa State Primary School in neighbouring Baringa to the north, Nirimba State Primary School in neighbouring Nirimba to the west, and Landsborough State School in Landsborough to the west. The nearest government secondary schools are Baringa State Secondary College in Baringa and Beerwah State High School in Beerwah to the south-west.^[16]