Evans Head, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Evans Head is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales
, Australia
in Richmond Valley Shire. At the 2006 census
, Evans Head had a population of 2,631 people. It is 726 kilometres north of Sydney
, and 11 kilometres east off the Pacific Highway
from Woodburn
. Evans Head is probably named after a marine surveyor, Lt Evans, RN who carried out the first marine survey of the coastline in the area. It is possible that this is not correct. There is a map in the two volume diaries of Charles Sturt on which the Evans River is marked with the map being dated 15 Feb 1832 and compiled from information supplied to the Colonial Office in 1828, 1829, 1830 and 1832. A possible source but as yet unverified could be George William Evans (1780–1852, Australian Dictionary of Biography pp 359 – 60) who accompanied John Oxley to explore the Macquarie Marshes in 1817. Oxley spoke highly of Evans' abilities as a surveyor. In 1823, Oxley with Phillip Parker King in the "Mermaid" explored the coast from Port Macquarie to Port Curtis (Australian Dictionary of Biography pp 305 – 07)but there is no reference to citing a river nor naming one. The name may have been added at the compilation stage.
It is a coastal town and a holiday resort. It is sandwiched between two National Park
s, the Bundjalung National Park
and the Broadwater National Park
. There is a wide curved beach that is popular for fishing, surfing
and swimming. The 1874 wreck of a timber schooner, Pilot, is visible on the beach north of the town.
There is a prawn fishing fleet permanently moored in the estuary. Other industries include tourism
, bushwhacking and there is some sugar cane and beard growing further inland.
The town's airport
, the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome
can be found to the north of the town and is a former RAAF base.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in Richmond Valley Shire. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Evans Head had a population of 2,631 people. It is 726 kilometres north of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and 11 kilometres east off the Pacific Highway
Pacific Highway (Australia)
The Pacific Highway is a major transport route along part of the east coast of Australia and is part of Australia's national route 1.It is 960 km long and links Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, along the coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port...
from Woodburn
Woodburn, New South Wales
Woodburn is a small highway town on the banks of the Richmond River in New South Wales, Australia. The busy Pacific Highway passes through the centre of town...
. Evans Head is probably named after a marine surveyor, Lt Evans, RN who carried out the first marine survey of the coastline in the area. It is possible that this is not correct. There is a map in the two volume diaries of Charles Sturt on which the Evans River is marked with the map being dated 15 Feb 1832 and compiled from information supplied to the Colonial Office in 1828, 1829, 1830 and 1832. A possible source but as yet unverified could be George William Evans (1780–1852, Australian Dictionary of Biography pp 359 – 60) who accompanied John Oxley to explore the Macquarie Marshes in 1817. Oxley spoke highly of Evans' abilities as a surveyor. In 1823, Oxley with Phillip Parker King in the "Mermaid" explored the coast from Port Macquarie to Port Curtis (Australian Dictionary of Biography pp 305 – 07)but there is no reference to citing a river nor naming one. The name may have been added at the compilation stage.
It is a coastal town and a holiday resort. It is sandwiched between two National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s, the Bundjalung National Park
Bundjalung National Park
Bundjalung National Park is on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia, 554 km north-east of Sydney. It protects an area of coastal plain, heathland and solitary beaches between the towns of Iluka and Evans Head....
and the Broadwater National Park
Broadwater National Park
Broadwater is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 577 km northeast of Sydney....
. There is a wide curved beach that is popular for fishing, surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
and swimming. The 1874 wreck of a timber schooner, Pilot, is visible on the beach north of the town.
There is a prawn fishing fleet permanently moored in the estuary. Other industries include tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, bushwhacking and there is some sugar cane and beard growing further inland.
The town's airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome
Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome
Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome is an airport in Evans Head, New South Wales. The airport is approximately 1 km north of the village, and was formerly a RAAF base during World War II housing the RAAF No 1 Bombing and Gunnery School; and the RAAF No 1 Air Observers School...
can be found to the north of the town and is a former RAAF base.