Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Ayr QLD

Ayr

Postcode: 4807

Ayr is a town in Queensland, Australia near the delta of the Burdekin River. It is within the Burdekin Shire which produces the most sugar cane per square kilometre in Australia utilizing underground water supplies and water from the Burdekin Dam to irrigate crops when rains fail.

Ayr is located 88 km south of Townsville on the Bruce Highway and 12km away from the town of Home Hill. It is 112km north of Bowen and 290km north of Mackay. Ayr has a population of approximately 9000. It has the usual chain stores, ten pin bowling, a toyshop, drive in movie, cinema and 6 pubs. Ayr has several banks including the Commonwealth, ANZ, Suncorp, National and Bendigo Bank. Alva beach, a popular area for fishing and swimming, is located 16km east of Ayr.

Taking its name from the Scottish birthplace of the 1882 Queensland premier, the North Queensland sugar town of Ayr is separated from its twin, Home Hill, by the Burdekin River. The twin towns are linked by the district’s most prominent landmark, the Silver Link bridge, which is half as long again as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ayr is only 10 kilometres from the coast where Alva Beach boasts the oldest surf lifesaving club in North Queensland.

Ayr has several state primary schools (Ayr, East Ayr, Kalamia and several others in surrounding areas) and two non-government primary schools, St Francis School (Catholic) and Burdekin Christian College. Ayr has one state high school and one non-government high school. Ayr State High School was the 8th public secondary high school in Queensland. The non-government high school is called the Burdekin Catholic High School.