Garie Beach

How far from the coast does the average Australian live?

Bit of a strange question, but being a nation that appears to have quite a strong beach culture, it begs one to ask, in general, how far does the average Australian live from the coast? Within 30 mins? Or more like an hour+?

Public Comments

1. There are a lot more near the coast than in the interior, but honestly, most of us that live close probably don't hit the sea as often as you might think, I can get to the ocean in 20 minutes for a paddle, or I can go and be pounded in huge Gold Coast Surf in 45 minutes, but hardly ever do. I think it's a hard question to answer.
2. The majority of the towns and cities are on the Coast. Not Canberra the capital though. Most would get to the sea within 30 minutes. The beaches in Sydney Adelaide Melbourne Perth and the GoldCoast are great. Some better than others. i've been to Surfers this morning. there are some good waves for the surfie and a few brave ones have been in for a swim . It's Winter here at the moment but the water temp is still about 20. Of course we have a lot of inland towns but the population is small to what we have in our big cities. We have nipper programmes for our children run by the surf clubs all around Australia.
3. 80 to 90% of us live within 2 hour drive of the coast
4. some 5 metres! most that are in 'costal areas' are around 5-10 minutes......others who are not in costal areas can take around 20 mins-half an hour....not long really.