Bundjalung Country map
Where Bundjalung Country runs, why no single map is official, and who holds the boundaries.
Richmond River mouth
Ballina
Ballina sits where the Richmond River meets the Pacific, and doubles as the main airport gateway into Bundjalung Country for most visitors flying in from Sydney or Melbourne.
About Ballina
Ballina, together with East Ballina and West Ballina, recorded around 18,500 residents at the 2021 Census (ABS Urban Centre and Locality figure), with the wider Ballina Shire closer to 46,000. It's the second-largest town in Bundjalung Country after Tweed Heads, and its airport — officially Ballina Byron Gateway Airport — is the busiest way in or out of the region, serving Byron Bay, Lennox Head, and the Northern Rivers well beyond the town itself.
Ballina's best-known landmark is the Big Prawn: a nine-metre fibreglass crustacean built in 1989 by local seafood retailer Ken Anderson, part of the same era of Australian roadside "Big Things" that produced the Big Banana up the coast at Coffs Harbour. It has since been restored and relocated and remains one of the most recognisable stops on the Pacific Highway.
Ballina is Bundjalung Country (traditionally associated with the Nyangbal people), at the mouth of one of the river systems that has long supported Bundjalung fishing and travel between the coast and the inland. For matters of language, cultural protocol, or country and family connections, local Bundjalung organisations such as Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council and native title bodies are the right contact — not this website.
South of Ballina, near Wardell, Cabbage Tree Island on the Richmond River has been home to an Aboriginal community since the late nineteenth century; a NSW Government heritage study records it as gazetted as a reserve in 1893. The 2022 floods damaged homes on the island, and residents moved into temporary housing at Wardell until they can return. The history and reserves guide has more, with sources.
Keep learning about Bundjalung Country
Clans and groups
Arakwal, Githabul, Bandjalang, Widjabal, Nyangbal, Yugambeh and the other names you will meet.
Bundjalung language
Dialects, why spellings differ, and the language centres that actually teach and publish.
Place names
Which Northern Rivers town names come from Bundjalung language, and which came from Britain.
Bundjalung National Park
The coastal park between Iluka and Evans Head, its campgrounds, and the Iluka rainforest.
History: reserves and land rights
The Protection Board years, the reserves and stations, and where to look for family records.
Parks, sacred places and walks
Jointly managed parks, places custodians ask you to treat with care, and Aboriginal-led walks.
Also on this site
Community email and web hosting
Email for Ballina
A name@bundjalung.au address suits Ballina residents, tourism operators, and small businesses who want a contact point that isn't tied to a single provider.
A free static site
Local artists, tour operators, and community groups around Ballina can get a simple static page live under name.bundjalung.au at no cost once identity checks are complete.
Bundjalung artists, makers, and business owners in Ballina: this page doesn't publish a directory of local people or businesses without their say-so. If you're a Bundjalung artist, maker, or business owner based in or around Ballina and would like a page, portfolio link, or listing here — with a link back to your own site or socials — use the contact form below or email info@bundjalung.au and mention Ballina. Nothing about you goes on this page unless you ask for it.