# Yatala, Queensland

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Yatala (/ˈjætlə/ YAT-lə) is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Yatala had a population of 1,405 people.

## Geography

The Albert River bounds the suburb to the north and west.

## Etymology

The suburb takes its name from a property on the Albert River which was named by a South Australian after Yatala Harbor near Port Augusta, South Australia. The word is presumed to be from the Kaurna Aboriginal word 'yertalla', meaning water running by the side of a river. As a place name it specifically referred to the inundation of the usually-dry plain either side of Dry Creek in South Australia after heavy rain.

## History

St Mary's Catholic Church was officially opened by Bishop James Quinn on Sunday 12 December 1875. The church was originally built as a masonic hall. The church building is no longer extant.
St Joseph's School opened in November 1875 and closed in December 1877.
In 1988, Bernie Powers operating as Power's Brewery opened a new brewery in Yatala. Powers entered a joint venture with Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) in 1992 and then sold completely to them in 1993. For CUB, it provided a modern efficient plant on a large site, ideal for their northern brewing operations. By 2010, CUB had expanded by the plant to over 20 times its original size, enabling it to produce one quarter of Australia's beer.
Yatala was home to an African safari park, operated by Bullen Circuses, from 1969 to 1988. It was sold due to financial unviability and developed into industrial estates. It was located on what is now Lions Park Drive, Yatala.
Rivermount College opened in 1992.
Since 2006, development has been rapidly occurring within the suburb, with over 300 businesses now established within its boundaries. This type of urban development is predicted to eventually encompass all the semi-rural land currently separating the Brisbane Metropolitan Area and Gold Coast City. Currently, there is approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of this land remaining between the two cities.

## Demographics

In the 2011 census, Yatala had a population of 1,346 people, 48.4% female and 51.6% male. The median age of the Yatala population was 38 years, 1 year above the national median age of 37. 79.6% of people living in Yatala were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 6.3%, New Zealand 4.6%, South Africa 1.2%, the Netherlands 1.0%, and Scotland 0.8%. 94.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next-most common languages were 0.6% Dutch, 0.5% Hindi, 0.4% Polish, 0.4% Italian and 0.3% German.
In the 2016 census, Yatala had a population of 1,312 people, 47.9% female and 52.1% male. The median age of the Yatala population was 42 years, 4 years above the national median age of 38. 77.4% of people living in Yatala were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 5.2%, New Zealand 5.2%, South Africa 1.6%, Scotland 1.0% and Belgium 0.5%. 90.3% of people only spoke English at home; the next-most common languages were 0.9% Afrikaans, 0.8% Italian, 0.5% Dutch, 0.4% Japanese and 0.3% Maltese.
In the 2021 census, Yatala had a population of 1,405 people, 50.6% female and 49.4% male. The median age of the Yatala population was 43 years, 5 years above the national median age of 38. 76.7% of people living in Yatala were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 5.1%, England 4.5%, South Africa 1.6%, Scotland 0.8%, and Papua New Guinea 0.5%. 89.7% of people only spoke English at home; the next-most common languages were 0.7% Maori (New Zealand), 0.6% Afrikaans, 0.4% Dutch, 0.4% Hindi, and 0.3% Greek.

## Economy

The Yatala Brewery is on a site bounded by Cuthbert Drive (and the Pacific Motorway) to the east, Darlington Drive to the north and Pearson Road to the west (27°45′18″S 153°14′05″E﻿ / ﻿27.75493°S 153.23486°E﻿ / -27.75493; 153.23486﻿ (Yatala Brewery)).
Yatala is the base for Supercar team Matt Stone Racing, and was previously the base for Stone Brothers Racing and later Erebus Motorsport.
Kanga Loaders, a heavy machinery manufacturer, are headquartered at 4 Octal Street.
In mid 2024, construction was finalised on a 10,000 sqm advanced manufacturing facility for Gilmour Space Technologies, which will serve as the company’s new headquarters. The facility is on Pearson Road, adjacent to the Yatala Brewery, and situated within the larger Stockland Distribution Centre South.

## Education

Rivermount College is a private primary and secondary (Preparatory to Year 12) school for boys and girls at Rivermount Drive (27°45′14″S 153°12′01″E﻿ / ﻿27.7539°S 153.2004°E﻿ / -27.7539; 153.2004﻿ (Rivermount College)). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 917 students with 66 teachers (64 full-time equivalent) and 50 non-teaching staff (39 full-time equivalent).
There are no government schools in Yatala. The nearest government primary schools are Norfolk Village State School in neighbouring Ormeau to the south-east and Mount Warren Park State School in neighbouring Mount Warren Park. to the north-west. The nearest government secondary schools are Ormeau Woods State High School in neighbouring Ormeau to the south-east, Beenleigh State High School in Beenleigh to the north-west, and Windaroo Valley State High School in neighbouring Windaroo to the west.

## Amenities

The Gold Coast City Council operates a mobile library which regularly visits the nearby suburb of Ormeau. Residents of the Gold Coast can also use the Logan City libraries, with neighbouring Beenleigh being the closest.
There are a number of parks in the area:
* Beenleigh Special Needs Park (27°46′29″S 153°11′23″E﻿ / ﻿27.7748°S 153.1897°E﻿ / -27.7748; 153.1897﻿ (Beenleigh Special Needs Park))
* Brewery Reserve (27°45′27″S 153°14′23″E﻿ / ﻿27.7575°S 153.2396°E﻿ / -27.7575; 153.2396﻿ (Brewery Reserve))
* Darlington Drive Park (27°45′03″S 153°13′43″E﻿ / ﻿27.7508°S 153.2286°E﻿ / -27.7508; 153.2286﻿ (Darlington Drive Park))
* David Arbon Park (27°44′50″S 153°12′43″E﻿ / ﻿27.7472°S 153.2119°E﻿ / -27.7472; 153.2119﻿ (David Arbon Park))
* Enkleman Road Park (27°45′48″S 153°11′55″E﻿ / ﻿27.7634°S 153.1987°E﻿ / -27.7634; 153.1987﻿ (Enkleman Road Park))
* Ferguson Park (27°44′27″S 153°12′34″E﻿ / ﻿27.7409°S 153.2094°E﻿ / -27.7409; 153.2094﻿ (Ferguson Park))
* Freeway Reserve Yatala (27°45′39″S 153°14′35″E﻿ / ﻿27.7609°S 153.2431°E﻿ / -27.7609; 153.2431﻿ (Freeway Reserve Yatala))
* Gassman Reserve (27°44′09″S 153°13′13″E﻿ / ﻿27.7357°S 153.2203°E﻿ / -27.7357; 153.2203﻿ (Gassman Reserve))
* Link Park (27°44′59″S 153°13′35″E﻿ / ﻿27.7498°S 153.2263°E﻿ / -27.7498; 153.2263﻿ (Link Park))
* Lower Halfway Creek Parklands (27°46′11″S 153°13′54″E﻿ / ﻿27.7697°S 153.2317°E﻿ / -27.7697; 153.2317﻿ (Lower Halfway Creek Parklands))
* Luscombe Reserve East (27°45′54″S 153°12′39″E﻿ / ﻿27.7651°S 153.2107°E﻿ / -27.7651; 153.2107﻿ (Luscombe Reserve East))
* Luscombe Reserve West (27°45′43″S 153°12′30″E﻿ / ﻿27.7619°S 153.2084°E﻿ / -27.7619; 153.2084﻿ (Luscombe Reserve West))
* Pagan Parklands (27°44′50″S 153°13′05″E﻿ / ﻿27.7472°S 153.2181°E﻿ / -27.7472; 153.2181﻿ (Pagan Parklands))
* Paterson Park (27°45′17″S 153°11′56″E﻿ / ﻿27.7547°S 153.1989°E﻿ / -27.7547; 153.1989﻿ (Paterson Park))
* Sears Road Reserve (27°45′06″S 153°12′38″E﻿ / ﻿27.7516°S 153.2106°E﻿ / -27.7516; 153.2106﻿ (Sears Road Reserve))
* Stanmore Park (27°45′14″S 153°13′08″E﻿ / ﻿27.7540°S 153.2190°E﻿ / -27.7540; 153.2190﻿ (Stanmore Park))
* Yatala Laneway Reserve (27°44′42″S 153°13′51″E﻿ / ﻿27.7449°S 153.2309°E﻿ / -27.7449; 153.2309﻿ (Yatala Laneway Reserve))

## Transport

Yatala is linked to both Beenleigh and Ormeau railway stations by bus routes 728 and 729, operated by Kinetic Group.

## Attractions

Yatala is home to the Yatala Pie Shop which claims to have been "a landmark in the Yatala area" for "more than 130 years" as of 2011. The restaurant is considered a common stop-over for travellers between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Despite its name, the Yatala Drive-In theatre is in neighbouring Stapylton.