Proposed names in Byron LGA

The Geographical Names Board (GNB) is seeking community feedback on a proposal by Byron Shire Council to formalise the names Brunswick Heads Beach and Tyagarah Beach and to amend the extent of Belongil Beach and Main Beach located in the Byron Local Government Area (LGA).   

Brunswick Heads Beach is proposed for a beach extending from the southern breakwater of the Brunswick River to the northern boundary of the Tyagarah Nature Reserve in the suburb of Brunswick Heads. 

The beach takes its name from the suburb in which it is located. Brunswick Heads was named after the Brunswick River, named by Captain Rous in honour of Queen Caroline of Brunswick in 1828. 

Tyagarah Beach is proposed for a beach extending for approximately 6.3kms, defined to the north by the boundary of the Tyagarah Nature Reserve and to the south by the mouth of Belongil Beach. The beach extends through the suburbs of Brunswick Heads, Tyagarah and Byron Bay. 

The beach is named after the suburb that it is predominately located in.  

Tyagarah is a local Arakwal word and is in common usage to describe the beach that lies to the seaward edge of the Tyagarah Nature Reserve. 

Belongil Beach and Main Beach are official place names assigned by the GNB in 2002.  

Byron Shire Council has identified anomalies in the naming and extent of beaches in the Byron LGA and report that the extents of these beaches have changed over time.   

GNB is seeking feedback from the community to verify if the new defined extents and names of the beaches are accurate. 

The proposed extents are based on common identifiers used by locals and emergency responders and are as follows: 

The extent of Belongil Beach is proposed to be amended from ‘a beach at Byron Bay, it extends east to Main Beach and west to Belongil Creek’ to ‘a beach extending for approximately 2.8kms from Belongil Creek to the rock groin at Main Beach near the intersection of Jonson Street and Bay Street in the suburb of Byron Bay’. 

The extent of Main Beach is proposed to be amended from ‘a beach adjacent to the Byron Bay Surf Club, it extends east to Clarkes Beach and west to Belongil Beach’ to ‘a beach stretching from the rock groin at the southern extent of Belongil Beach to Clarkes Beach'.   

The beach extends for approximately 950 metres along the shoreline near the intersection of Bay Street and Johson Street to the northern extent of Massinger Street, in the suburb of Byron Bay’.  

Suggestions for alternative names are not being sought at this time.  

Formalising the names would ensure all maps have the correct name and that they are used consistently on maps and in datasets.