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The Sunshine Coast is a peri-urban region in South East Queensland, Australia. It is the district defined in 1967 as "the area contained in the Shires of Landsborough, Maroochy and
Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it wa ...
, but excluding
Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island i ...
". Located north of the centre of
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
in South East Queensland, on the Coral Sea coastline, its urban area spans approximately of coastline and hinterland from Pelican Waters to Tewantin. The area was first settled by
Papuasia Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia. It comprises th ...
ns migrating from northern Australia. Europeans settled in the area in the 19th century, with development progressing slowly until tourism became an important industry. The area has several coastal hubs at Caloundra, Kawana Waters, Maroochydore and Noosa Heads. Nambour and
Maleny Maleny (pronounced ''mah-lay-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , the locality of Maleny had a population of 3,959 people. Maleny was a timber town ...
have developed as primary commercial centres for the hinterland. Since 2014, the Sunshine Coast district has been split into two
local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phra ...
, the Sunshine Coast Region and the Shire of Noosa, which administer the southern and northern parts of the Sunshine Coast respectively. As of June 2021, with an estimated urban population of 398,840, the Sunshine Coast is the fifth most populated area in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
and the 9th most populous in the country. The population of the area has grown steadily at an average annual rate of 2.4% year-on-year over the five years to 2018.


History

The earliest residents of the Sunshine Coast were the indigenous Gubbi Gubbi and Wakka Wakka people. Mathew, John (1910)
''Two Representative Tribes of Queensland''
London: T. Fisher Unwin
The territory of the Kabi includes about along the coastline from the 27th parallel northward to the mouth of the Burrum River. The country of the Wakka Wakka people was about that was roughly triangular to the west of the Kabi, including a small part of the Dawson, and meeting the northern Kabi boundary at Walla. The two tribes were friendly and intermarried and had the same class restrictions. The groups were
nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
ic, gathering food en-route as they moved from one campsite to the next. Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi, Cabbee, Carbi, Gabi Gabi) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Gubbi Gubbi country. The Gubbi Gubbi language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Sunshine Coast Region and Gympie Region, particularly the towns of Caloundra, Noosa Heads, Gympie and extending north towards Maryborough and south to
Caboolture Caboolture () is a town and suburb in Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 26,433 people. It is located on the north side of the Caboolture River, which separates the town from Morayfi ...
''.'' In 1770, James Cook on the deck of HM Bark ''Endeavour'' became the first known European to sight the
Glass House Mountains The Glass House Mountains are a cluster of thirteen hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The highest hill is Mount Beerwah at 556 metres above sea level, but the most identifiable of ...
, located south-west of Caloundra. In the 1820s, former convicts John Finnegan,
Thomas Pamphlett Thomas Pamphlett (1788?–1838), sometimes Pamphlet, also known as James Groom, was a convict in colonial Australia. He is best known for his time as a castaway in the Moreton Bay area, halfway up the eastern coast of Australia, in 1823. He was mar ...
and Richard Parsons landed on
Moreton Island Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisban ...
after becoming hopelessly lost fetching cedar. They lived with the Kabi Kabi for eight months. Thereafter, during the 1830s to 1840s, the district became home to numerous runaway convicts from the Moreton Bay (Brisbane) penal colony slightly to the south. In 1842, Governor George Gipps had the entire Sunshine Coast and hinterland from Mt Beerwah north to roughly Eumundi declared a "Bunya Bunya Reserve" for the protection of the bunya tree after
Andrew Petrie Andrew Petrie (1798 - 20 February 1872) was a pioneer, architect and builder in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Early life Andrew Petrie was born in Fife, Scotland. He trained as a builder in Edinburgh. He married Mary Cuthbertson in 1821 ...
advised him of the importance of bunya groves in Aboriginal culture. However, during the 1840s and 1850s, the Bunya Bunya Reserve and its vicinity became the scene of some of the most bitter skirmishes of Australia's " Black War". The Blackall Range, on account of the tri-annual Bunya Festival, served as both a hideout and rallying point for attacks against white settlements. By the 1850s timber cutters and cattlemen had started exploiting the area; in 1860 the Bunya Bunya Reserve was scrapped. Many of the Sunshine Coast's towns began as simple ports or jetties for the timber industry during the 1860s and 1870s, as the area once had magnificent stands of forest. Likewise, the region's roads often began as snigging tracks for hauling timber. Timber getters used the region's creeks, rivers and lakes as seaways to float out their logs of cedar – the resultant wood being shipped as far afield as Europe. During the Gympie Gold Rush (1867), prospectors scaled the Sunshine Coast mountains to develop easier roadways to and from the gold fields of Gympie. After the construction of the railway line to Gympie, the coastal and river towns, being mostly ports for the early river trade, were bypassed. By the 1890s, diverse small farming (fruit and dairy) had replaced the cattle-and-timber economy of earlier decades. Sugar cane and
pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
s proved especially important to produce for the district. Many small hamlets and towns now emerged. Produce was initially taken by horse to Landsborough, then to Eudlo in 1891. Especially after World War II, the Sunshine Coast grew into a favoured holiday and surfing destination. This tendency was further expanded in the development boom of the 1960s and 1970s. Around the same time, various tourist/theme parks were created – the most iconic being the Big Pineapple in
Woombye Woombye is a town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Woombye had a population of 3,246 people. Geography Woombye is located on the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia, approximately n ...
. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Sunshine Coast also attracted persons drawn to
alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle perceived to be outside the norm for a given culture. The phrase "alternative lifestyle" is often used pejoratively. Description of a related set of activities as alternative is a defining aspect of certai ...
s. These newcomers developed a range of craft industries, co-operatives and spiritual centres, particularly in the hinterlands. After the 1980s, the Sunshine Coast experienced rapid population growth. it had become one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia. As the region becomes increasingly residential, most of the district's distinctive small farms – especially tropical-fruit and sugar-cane farms have disappeared, as have most of its theme parks. The Moreton sugar mills closure in 2003 removed a market for the district's 120 cane growers who had been harvesting cane in the region. Instead,
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...
es concerned with retail, catering and tourism have assumed increasing importance. In 2008, The Shire of Noosa, Shire of Maroochy and City of Caloundra merged to form the Sunshine Coast Region. The 2007
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission and leading to the merger remained controversial in Noosa Shire, where 95% of voters had rejected amalgamation. In March 2013, a second referendum resulted in 81% of residents voted to leave the amalgamated Sunshine Coast Region. On 9 November 2013 an election resulted in Noel Playford being elected to take office as mayor on 1 January 2014 with the new council.ecq.qld.gov.au
– 013 Noosa Shire Council – Mayoral Election – 10 November 2013
The Shire of Noosa was re-established on 1 January 2014. This resulted in two geopolitical areas occupying the area generally recognised as 'The Sunshine Coast'. The Sunshine Coast Region, governed by the Sunshine Coast Council and the Shire of Noosa, governed by Noosa Shire Council. At the last census in 2016, the population of the Sunshine Coast was 346,522. The median age was 44 years old, 6 years older than the nationwide median. The male-to-female ratio was 48.3-to-51.7. Most residents were born in Australia (73.7%), with 1.9% being Indigenous Australians. The most common countries of birth of other residents were England (6.2%), New Zealand (4.5%), South Africa (1.0%), Germany (0.7%), and Scotland (0.6%). The most commonly spoken languages other than English were German (0.6%), and
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
, Dutch, French, and Italian (0.3% each). A large proportion of Sunshine Coast residents reported no religious affiliation (34.0%). Of those who had a religious affiliation, the most frequent were: Catholic (18.2%), Anglican (16.8%), and Uniting Church (5.2%). Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data from the May 2019 Labour Force Survey indicate that around 184,200 people were employed in the Sunshine Coast region. Health care and social assistance was the largest employment sector with 26,800 people, followed by construction with 26,500 people, and education and training with 21,200 people. Other important employment sectors in the region were accommodation and food services; retail trade; and professional, scientific and technical services. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector employed 2,600 people, representing 1 per cent of the region's workforce.


Geography

Major rivers of the Sunshine Coast include
Noosa River The Noosa River is a river situated in South East Queensland. The catchment starts in the Como Escarpment near Mount Elliott in the coastal Great Sandy National Park and meanders south through a lakes district around Tewantin. Lakes situated on ...
,
Maroochy River The Maroochy River is a river in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and flows east through Eumundi, before entering the sea at Cotton Tree, Maroochydore. Other populated centres in ...
,
Mooloolah River The Mooloolah River is a river in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and flows east-northeast, similar to the Maroochy River to the north. The mouth of the river is at southern Moolo ...
and the Stanley River. The region includes several lakes such as
Lake Cootharaba Lake Cootharaba is a lake on the Noosa River within the locality of Noosa North Shore in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It is the gateway to the Everglades, a popular tourist attraction for Noosa, being 20 km away from Noosa. ...
and
Lake Weyba Lake Weyba is a large shallow salt lake in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. Lake Weyba is an important fish-breeding habitat. In the early 1900s, Lake Weyba had a large number of stingrays, which would have been easy targets for spear ...
.
Ewen Maddock Dam The Ewen Maddock Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Addlington Creek that is located in Landsborough in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water sup ...
, Wappa Dam and
Baroon Pocket Dam The Baroon Pocket Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Obi Obi Creek, in North Maleny, Sunshine Coast Region, in South East Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water su ...
have been built for water storage.


Beaches

Several stretches of the Sunshine Coast are lined with unbroken beaches – from Sunshine Beach near
Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it wa ...
to
Coolum Beach Coolum Beach is a beachside town and coastal suburb in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Coolum Beach had a population of 8,497 people. Geography Coolum Beach has the following mountains (from north to s ...
(); the coast from Point Arkwright to
Mudjimba Mudjimba is a coastal suburb in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia, and forms part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mudjimba had a population of 2,540 people. Geography The suburb is bounded by Mudjimba Beach on the Co ...
(); the MaroochydoreMooloolaba stretch (); and from Buddina past the Caloundra CBD to Pelican Waters (). Noosa Main Beach, Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba (the spit) and Coolum Beach are nationally recognized surfing beaches. Notable beaches include: * Sunshine Beach in Noosa * Sunrise Beach in Noosa * Castaways Beach in Noosa * Marcus Beach in Noosa *
Peregian Beach Peregian Beach is a beach and small coastal town on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a suburb split between two local government areas with the eastern coastal in the Shire of Noosa and the western hinterland part in the Sunshine ...
in Noosa *
Marcoola Marcoola is a coastal town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Marcoola had a population of 3,173 people. Geography Marcoola includes part of the pristine Mount Coolum National Park, borde ...
, Maroochydore *
Mudjimba Mudjimba is a coastal suburb in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia, and forms part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mudjimba had a population of 2,540 people. Geography The suburb is bounded by Mudjimba Beach on the Co ...
, Maroochydore * Kawana Waters, between Maroochydore and Caloundra * Dicky Beach in Caloundra * Moffat Beach in Caloundra * Shelly Beach in Caloundra * Kings Beach in Caloundra * Golden Beach in Caloundra


National parks

The Sunshine Coast is home to more individual
national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
s than any other region in Queensland. The natural biodiversity of the area has been protected by five separate parks in both coastal and inland regions, including Mapleton Falls National Park, Kondalilla National Park, The
Glass House Mountains National Park Glass House Mountains National Park is a heritage-listed national park at Glass House Mountains, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Beerburrum Forest Reserve 1. It is north of Brisbane and consists of a flat plai ...
,
Noosa National Park Noosa National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 121 km north of Brisbane. It is situated near Noosa Heads between the Pacific Ocean and the Sunshine Coasts's northern area of urban development and extends southwards, past ...
, and the Great Sandy National Park, which includes sections on Fraser Island and in Cooloola near Rainbow Beach.


Climate

Sunshine Coast has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
( Cfa) typical of South Queensland. Summers are generally hot, but moderated compared to areas on similar latitudes elsewhere. Winters retain warm days, but have cooler nights rendering it falling into the subtropical fold. There is no dry season and precipitation is generally quite high. The average temperature of the sea ranges from in August to in February at Mooloolaba, and from in August to in February at Noosa Heads.


Economy

The Sunshine Coast economy has outpaced most of the regional economies in Australia in terms of growth over the last 15 years. The strength of the regional economy is based in its diversity and strength across a number of key sectors including healthcare, education, finance and professional business services.


Tourism

The Sunshine Coast is a centre for tourism, attracting more than 3.2 million visitors a year. There are significant attractions, such as Steve Irwin's
Australia Zoo Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, w ...
, UnderWater World marine park,
Aussie World Aussie World is a privately owned, medium-sized, family theme park on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has over 30 rides and attractions. It is located on the Bruce Highway at Palmview. It has been recognised by the Sunshine Co ...
with the Ettamogah Pub, the
Buderim Ginger Factory Buderim Ginger is a brand of ginger-based food products in Australia. The Buderim Ginger Factory is a working ginger factory and tourist attraction in Pioneer Road, Yandina, Queensland, Yandina, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The ...
, the Big Pineapple, the
Eumundi Eumundi is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Eumundi had a population of 2,221 people. Eumundi is very popular on the coast for its bi-weekly farmers' markets. The marketpl ...
Markets and the Majestic Theatre, Pomona. Sports tourism is supported by several annual sporting events such as the Mooloolaba Triathlon,
Noosa Triathlon The Noosa Triathlon is an annual standard distance triathlon (1500m swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run) held in Noosa, Queensland, Noosa, in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and organised by the World T ...
and Sunshine Coast Marathon. The Sunshine Coast is served by the
Sunshine Coast Airport Sunshine Coast Airport (formerly Maroochydore Airport) is an Australian international airport located at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast and approximately north of centre of Brisbane, within South East Queensland agglomeration. I ...
10 km north of Maroochydore, though many tourists also arrive from Brisbane Airport which is 100 km to the south. As of November 2020 the Sunshine Coast is home of NightQuarter, an Eat Street-style precinct with live music and other immersive experiences. The Sunshine Coast region is home to many tour operators which are supported by welcomed 3.6 million domestic overnight visitors in the year ending September 2021. These visitors spent an estimated $2.7 billion in the region and help sustain local businesses.


Agriculture

In 2017–18, the gross value of agricultural production in the Sunshine Coast region was $217 million, which was 2 per cent of the total gross value of agricultural production in Queensland ($13 billion). Agricultural land in the Sunshine Coast region occupies 1,100 square kilometres, or 36 per cent of the region. Areas classified as conservation and natural environments (nature conservation, protected areas and minimal use) occupy 880 square kilometres, or 29 per cent of the region. The most common land use by area is grazing native vegetation, which occupies 530 square kilometres or 17 per cent of the Sunshine Coast region. The Sunshine Coast region has a diverse agricultural sector. The most important commodities in the region based on the gross value of agricultural production were poultry ($66 million), followed by strawberries ($35 million) and milk ($29 million). These commodities together contributed 60 per cent of the total value of agricultural production in the region.


References


External links

*
Sunshine Coast Tourism
– Sunshine Coast Region {{Portal bar, Queensland