St Helens Beach, Queensland

For other uses, see St Helens, Queensland.

St Helens Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2][3] In the 2021 census, the locality of St Helens Beach had a population of 175 people.^[1]

St Helens Beach Queensland
St Helens Beach
Coordinates	20.8358°S 148.8405°E / -20.8358; 148.8405 (St Helens Beach (town centre))
Population	175 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	4.476/km2 (11.59/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4798
Area	39.1 km2 (15.1 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	15.4 km (10 mi) NE of Calen 68.0 km (42 mi) NW of Mackay CBD 1,029 km (639 mi) NNW of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Mackay Region
State electorate(s)	Whitsunday
Federal division(s)	Dawson
Localities around St Helens Beach: Mentmore Mentmore Coral Sea Pindi Pindi St Helens Beach Coral Sea Calen Calen Coral Sea

History

Yuwibara (also known as Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region.^[4]

Giya (also known as Kia) is a language of North Queensland. The Giya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Whitsunday Regional Council, particularly the towns of Bowen and Proserpine.^[5]

The town was originally known as Wootaroo but was changed to St Helens by the Queensland Place Names Board on 1 April 1973 and then changed from St Helens to St Helens Beach on 2 September 1989. St Helens was the name of a pastoral run founded by pastoralists R. W. Graham and brothers John and William Macartney in the 1870s.^[6] The word beach is a reference to the sandy beach along the coastline of the Coral Sea.^[2]

Demographics

In the 2016 census, the locality of St Helens Beach had a population of 197 people.^[7]

In the 2021 census, the locality of St Helens Beach had a population of 175 people.^[1]

Education

There are no schools in St Helens Beach. The nearest government primary schools are Calen District State College in neighbouring Calen to the south and Pindi Pindi State School in neighbouring Pindi Pindi to the west. The nearest government secondary school is Calen District State College (to Year 12).^[8]