Bilinga

Bilinga, a coastal suburb, is immediately adjacent to the western edge of Coolangatta. Its inland boundary is the New South Wales border, and over half its area is taken up with the Coolangatta airport. The name is thought to have been derived from the Yugambeh Aboriginal word for bats, and it was approved as a place name in 1918.

Situated between Currumbin and Coolangatta, Bilinga is younger than both. Located on the Nerang Tweed railway line, the original Crown land holdings were auctioned in 1918-19 and a rail siding approved in 1919. A general store opened in the early 1920s, with the opening of the coastal motor road later that decade improving access for holidaymakers and spurring further development. Its earliest houses are around 50 years old, surviving remnants of which exhibit the character of early postwar Surfers Paradise, which has been obliterated by redevelopment. Separate houses are a declining proportion as they are replaced by low-rise apartments.

Bilinga is unusual among Gold Coast suburbs in that its beach is north-facing, with generally safer surf conditions than neighbouring Tugun. The narrow urban strip is lineally traversed by the Gold Coast Highway. Pacific Parade, two blocks away toward the beach, is considered to be the suburb's best address. It adjoins the sand and is furthest from the airport.

At the north-western side of Bilinga there are a surf life-saving club, a community centre and a large recreation reserve which is home to the Tugun Leagues Club. Shopping is done in Kirra and Coolangatta.

Southern Cross University opened a Gold Coast campus in Southern Cross Drive (2010) with a second stage (2013) specialising in the health disciplines.

The surfing community and others rallied against a plan to locate a cruise ship terminal at Bilinga, leading to the abandonment of the proposal in 2014. The Gold Coast City Council rejected attempts in 2014 by beachfront residents to buy a road reserve between their properties and the beach, thus maintaining public access and ruling that encroachments be removed.

Bilinga's census populations have been: