Airlie Beach from Air
Airlie Beach from Air |
Airlie Beach is the tourist centre of the Whitsunday Region. Here you
will find everything that you will need for a fantastic holiday in this tropical
paradise. |
 Airlie's Main Beach |
 Shute Harbour Road - Main Thoroughfare |
Airlie/ Airlie Beach Prior to 1936 the most easterly of the two small bays
sitting on either side of the mouth of Airlie Creek was known as Horseshoe Bay and the land behind it as
Jubilee Pocket and from about 1904 the land on the southern side of what is now Shute Harbour Road
was occupied by a farming community. In December 1935 the Lands Department decided
to throw open for selection the land fronting the water on the northern side of the road, and wrote to the
Proserpine Shire Council asking it to suggest a name. The then Council chairman, Robert Shepherd, put
forward 'Airlie' and this was confirmed at a meeting of the Council on 9 January 1936 (the Proserpine
Guardian 18 January 1936) though the reason for Shepherd's choice is not known. He was born in 1879
in Montrose on the east coast of Scotland and spent his early life there before coming to Australia in 1904.
The Parish of Airlie lies about 30 kilometres to the west of Montrose, and it is possible Shepherd had some
association with that area and was influenced by memories of it.
During 1935 it was rumoured in the press (Proserpine Guardian 8 June 1935) that the Earl of
Airlie was to succeed Sir Isaac Isaacs as Governor General of Australia, and this also may have played a
part. As it happened, the Earl did not become Governor General, the post being taken by Lord
Gowrie in 1936. Another factor which may have influenced Shepherd was that in the Parish of Airlie in
Scotland is a Glen Isla, a name that already existed near Proserpine when Shepherd arrived in the area.
He obviously was keen on Scottish names for he named his two local properties Montrose and Braemar.
Whatever the reason, the Whitsunday's 'Airlie' undoubtedly comes from the Scottish Airlie.
(see below)
First waterfront settlers
Following the proclamation of the new township, land
between Shute Harbour Road and the waterfront was opened for selection. The first sale in January 1936
saw four blocks bought by C. E. Mazlin, F. H. Rogers, J. T. Foxlee and H. E. Foxlee, three at £45 ($ 90) and one
at £15 ($ 30) (Proserpine Guardian 1 March 1936). By May a further two blocks had been sold, to S. R. Abell
and R. T. Barr (Proserpine Shire Council minutes 14 May 1936).
Almost immediately after the name Airlie was adopted and the town of Airlie was born in Lands
Department records, the area became known locally as 'Airlie Beach', and this name was to become common
usage in later years. On 6 April 1959 the residents petitioned for an
official post office, which was approved on 9 July 1959 with a request to the residents to suggest a name for it.
On 14 August 'Airlie Beach' was put forward and later approved by the Post Master General and the Lands
Department. The first postmaster was H. J. Rowe in whose store the post office was located. The application
for the post office contained the information that there were eighty-three residences in the area of which fifty-three
were permanently occupied; there were sixty-nine permanent adult residents and the area carried mainly
fruit and small-crop farming (Historical section, Australia Post).
The Scottish Airlie
The Parish of Airlie lies on the northern slope of the valley of Strathmore in the county of Angus. It is tiny,
about six miles by four, but nevertheless is quite famous in Scottish history. There is no town of Airlie as such,
but there is a series of hamlets with Airlie names, such as Mains of Airlie, Airlie Kirkton, Newton of Airlie
and so on. Airlie Castle is the official seat of the Earl of Airlie, the title dating from 1639 when it was granted
to the Ogilvy family. The Earl's younger brother, Angus Ogilvy, is the husband of Princess Alexandra (Forfar
Local History Society, Scotland).
*The above History is reproduced by kind permission of Mr. Ray Blackwood
from his book The Whitsunday Islands-An Historical Dictionary. Please
visit his site here to find out more
facts, myths and mythunderstandings
of the Whitsundays.
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Last Updated 1 June 1999
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