Areas / Mackay Regional / McEwens Beach

McEwens Beach flood map & planning overlays

McEwens Beach is 93.4% flood-mapped, with a median age of 54.

A planning-constraint profile of McEwens Beach (Mackay Regional, QLD) - 11.83 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to McEwens Beach's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across McEwens Beach properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 101 analysed McEwens Beach properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over McEwens Beach

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026

Under observed aircraft
84%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
58%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 3,000 ft
Busiest square
~1 a day
1 a day below 3,000 ft · ±23% · area average
typical observed square 0 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 6,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.

How this is measured

Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.

McEwens Beach at a glance

Parcels 124 Median lot 808 m² Mapped easements 16 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay <1%

Schools in and near McEwens Beach

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

0

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 2.16 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 7.26 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.

Which school zone is a McEwens Beach address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.

How McEwens Beach is zoned

Rural 63%
Conservation 35%
Open space 1%
Township 1%

Selling in McEwens Beach? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.

Across its 11.83 km², McEwens Beach is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 93% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 10% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 808 m² across 124 parcels.

Who lives in McEwens Beach

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the McEwens Beach suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
159
usual residents, 2021
Median age
54
years
Median household income
$1,833
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $1,937
Median rent
$268
per week, Mackay Regional suburb typical $272
Median mortgage
$1,800
per month
Household size
2.3
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 969, and decile 6 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 7
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of McEwens Beach's 159 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.1%
5-14 6.4%
15-19 2.6%
20-24 1.9%
25-34 3.8%
35-44 9.6%
45-54 25.0%
55-64 19.9%
65-74 20.5%
75-84 5.1%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Walkerston - Eton, the wider ABS statistical area containing McEwens Beach. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than McEwens Beach itself.

6,919 in 2001 to 8,749 in 2025, up 26%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

McEwens Beach data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government

Profile last materially updated 7 November 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific McEwens Beach address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

See what's in the $9 report →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 58% of McEwens Beach. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Published flood models are held over parts of McEwens Beach. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.

The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).

Moving here? The Liveability section adds walking times from the address to schools, parks, shops and transport, and the school zones it sits in (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a McEwens Beach lot.

McEwens Beach planning - frequently asked

Is McEwens Beach flood-prone?

About 93% of McEwens Beach falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 36%. Across the suburb, 100% of the 101 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 82 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of McEwens Beach; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is McEwens Beach bushfire-prone?

Around 10% of McEwens Beach is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.

Is McEwens Beach under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 58% of McEwens Beach, and over about 84% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 3,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in McEwens Beach?

The dominant planning zone in McEwens Beach is Rural, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Open space.

Does McEwens Beach have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within McEwens Beach.

Is McEwens Beach hilly or flat?

McEwens Beach is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 2%. Ground level runs from roughly 3 m to 6 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in McEwens Beach?

Across 124 surveyed parcels in McEwens Beach, the median lot size is about 808 m². There are also 16 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

What is the population of McEwens Beach?

At the 2021 Census McEwens Beach had 159 usual residents, with a median age of 54 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Walkerston - Eton statistical area, which contains McEwens Beach, went from 6,919 people in 2001 to 8,749 in 2025, up 26%.

Is McEwens Beach an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), McEwens Beach scores 969 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in McEwens Beach?

Median household income in McEwens Beach was $1,833 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $268 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,800 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Dunnrock 3.3 km 93% <1%
Bakers Creek 4.1 km 88% 4%
Rosella 4.5 km 25% 0%
Chelona 5.3 km 89% 4%
Paget 5.6 km 81% 6%
Ooralea 8.0 km 60% 0%
Balberra 8.1 km 46% 3%
South Mackay 8.3 km 86% 3%
Alligator Creek 8.5 km 16% 22%
Sandiford 8.8 km 42% <1%

See all Mackay Regional suburb profiles →