Pallarenda, a coastal suburb, is eight km north-west of central Townsville. It was named after Cape Pallarenda, the suburb's northernmost point. Possibly Aboriginal in origin, 'Pallarenda' was the name given by Lieutenant G.P. Heath in 1864 when surveying Cleveland Bay.
Cape Pallarenda was a quarantine station during 1915-73. There were defensive gun emplacements and the Cape was a base camp and hospital during World War II. Part of the site is now a conservation park, joined to the Townsville Town Common, with a RAAF base occupying the remainder. Various buildings, gun emplacements and a cemetery in the former quarantine station are listed on the Queensland heritage register.
Pallarenda has a residential area, a beach with a swimming enclosure and a foreshore reserve. Its census populations have been:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1976 | 1016 |
| 1996 | 884 |
| 2001 | 882 |
| 2006 | 1027 |
| 2011 | 817 |
