Bargara is a coastal town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. The town lies north of the state capitalBrisbane and just east of Bundaberg. Bargara is considered to be a satellite suburb of Bundaberg, with only sugar cane fields separating the two centres. Nielson Park is a town in the north of the locality, only from the town of Bargara.
Geography
Bargara has grown significantly over the last decade, becoming a popular tourist and retirement destination. The main streets of Bargara are The Esplanade and Bauer Street. The Esplanade runs along the Bargara Beach foreshore, and is lined with several modern holiday homes and units. Bauer Street contains several hotels, restaurants and clothing shops. Bargara is also a popular fishing, swimming and surfing location. The Mon Reposturtlerookery is located just north of Bargara. A wall in the reserve dating back to the very early days of settlement was constructed using Kanaka labour and rocks taken from the nearby sugarcane fields. Most of the coastline of Mon Repos is part of the Mon Repos Conservation Park, established to protect the nesting areas of sea turtles. Inland of the conversation park, much of the land is state reserves or subject to other restrictions designed to support the wildlife objectives of the conversation park. Although officially separate towns, Nielson Park and Bargara are effectively a continuous urban area, and Nielson Park is generally regarded just as a picnic ground and beach area of Bargara.
History
Prior to 1913, Bargara was officially known as Sandhills. The Sandhills Provisional School opened in 1893, and was renamed Bargara State School in 1921. The name Bargara is derived from the names of two adjacent localities, Barolin and Woongarra. Between 1912 and 1948, the Woongarra railway line connected Bargara to Bundaberg. Bargara Post Office opened by 1923. At the 2011 census, Bargara had a population of 6,893. On Australia Day 2013, Bargara was struck by a tornado spawned by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald. The tornado damaged over 150 properties, and injured up to 17 people, 2 seriously.
Demographics
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 7,485 people in Bargara.
76.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 6.4%, New Zealand 3.2% and South Africa 1.6%.
90.8% of people only spoke English at home.
The most common responses for religion were No Religion 25.3%, Anglican 21.3%, Catholic 19.9% and Uniting Church 7.6%.
Retirement resorts
Bargara is serviced by two major retirement resorts that cater to a predominantly older demographic: Palm Lake Resort and Carlyle Gardens Retirement Village.
Commerce
The main commercial precincts are the strips on Bauer Street between See Street and The Esplanade, and the section of See Street south of Bauer Street. Bargara Central Shopping Centre located at the corner of Davidson Street and Bargara Road is the main large-scale shopping centre servicing the town. It has two supermarkets, Woolworths and Aldi. There are several restaurants and fast food stores. Three other plazas lie adjacent to the Bauer Street commercial precincts, namely Coral Coast Plaza, Bargara Beach Plaza. One more small shopping complex exists at the entrance to the Carlyle Gardens Retirement Village on Woongarra Scenic Drive.
Despite being a medium town, Bargara does not have an educational institution within its boundary. The nearest school located on the outskirts of the town, Bargara State School, actually lies in the nearby locality of Mon Repos.
Transport
The town is serviced by the main roads of Bargara Road, Bauer Street, See Street, The Esplanade, Miller Street and Woongarra Scenic Drive. Bus route no. 4 connects Bargara with the City and Sugarland Shopping Centre, running 7 days a week via Bauer Street, The Esplanade, Miller Street and Innes Park North.
Parks and open spaces
Bargara Esplanade
Neilson Park
Bell Fritz Park
Mary Kinross Memorial Park
Bargara Rotary Park
Kelly's Beach Park
Barolin Nature Reserve - It is filled with grassy plains and wetlands and has a sizeable population of birds. Earlier known as Pasturage Reserve, it was primarily used for cattle grazing. However, grazing has been reduced significantly to save the forest.
