The areas around Townsville - most notably the town of Ayr - have been home to several generations of the BIRD family. This article details the town's growth from the period of their arrival in the 19th century until the present day.
Ayr is a town in northeastern Queensland, Australia, on the delta of the Burdekin River. The settlement was surveyed and gazetted in 1881. Declared a town in 1882 and named after the Scottish birthplace of Sir Thomas McIllwraith, then state premier, it became a shire in 1903.
On the north coast rail line and the Bruce Highway to Townsville (45 miles [70 km] northwest) and Brisbane (657 miles [1,057 km] southeast), it is the centre of the lower Burdekin irrigation area, which produces sugarcane, rice, corn (maize), and beef cattle.
There are several sugar mills in the area. A 3,619-foot (1,103-metre) bridge is part of a road leading 7 miles south to the town of Home Hill. Pop. (2006) 8,616.