Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the

Sunshine Coast Region The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. It was created by the amalgamation in 2008 of the City of Caloundra and the Shires of Maroochy and Noosa. It con ...

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 ...

, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber depot at what is now Wharf Street. Its name comes from the

Yuggera language Turrbal is an Aboriginal Australian language of Queensland. It is the language of the Turrbal people, who are the traditional owners and custodians of Brisbane. The Turrbal Association uses the Turrbal spelling and prefer this over other spelli ...

word ''Muru-kutchi'', meaning red-bill and referring to the

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon ...

, which is commonly seen in the area. Maroochydore is a major commercial area of the Sunshine Coast with most shopping precincts located in the central business district. It is home to the

Sunshine Plaza Sunshine Plaza is a large regional shopping centre located in Maroochydore, Queensland, and is the largest shopping centre on the Sunshine Coast. Anchor tenants included in the centre are Coles, Woolworths, Myer, Kmart, Target, Big W, H&M, ...

shopping centre and the Sunshine Coast's major bus interchange for TransLink services operated by

Sunbus Sunbus was an Australian bus operator in the Australian state of Queensland. It operated in 5 regional areas across the state under contract to the Government of Queensland under the TransLink banner. As of 2022 Sunbus has changed its name a ...

. Maroochydore is also a venue of major surf sport carnivals, and is a popular holiday point from which to travel the rest of Queensland.

Geography

The boundaries of the Maroochydore as a locality are well-defined. As a town, Maroochydore does not have strict boundaries, but the boundary used by Sunshine Coast Regional Council (formerly the

Maroochy Shire The Shire of Maroochy was a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1890 until 2008, when it a ...

) includes a region from the southern boundary of

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 ...

to the

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 ...

Mooloolaba Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 7,73 ...

and Kawana Way. This corresponds to the historic

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments ...

urban centres of Maroochydore–Mooloolaba and Mudjimba. The

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

(CBD) for the area is located on Horton Parade, Maroochydore. The Maroochydore urban centre consists of Alexandra Headland, part of

Bli Bli Bli Bli () is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bli Bli had a population of 7,801 people. Geography A few kilometres inland from the Maroochydore urban area, Bli Bli rises above the wetland ...

Buderim Buderim ( ) is an urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It sits on a mountain which overlooks the southern Sunshine Coast communities. In the , the urban area of Buderim had a population of 54,483. The name "Buderim" i ...

(section within about one km of

Sunshine Motorway The Sunshine Motorway is a thirty-three kilometre Australian motorway on the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland, just north of Brisbane. It was initially a tolled motorway before these were removed in 1996 after excessive complaints regarding ...

), Cotton Tree (Australia Post 4558),

Kuluin Kuluin is a suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Kuluin had a population of 2363 people. History The locality takes its name from an Aboriginal word in the Kabi language meaning black swan. ...

, Maroochydore, Maroochy Waters,

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 ...

, Mountain Creek,

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 ...

Pacific Paradise Pacific Paradise is a suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Pacific Paradise had a population of 2,190 people. Geography Pacific Paradise is bounded to the south by the Maroochy River, to the ...

and Twin Waters. The current ASGC, applicable to the 2001 and 2006 censuses, has placed all of Buderim and Mountain Creek under the Buderim SLA.

Maroochy Waters

Maroochy Waters is a waterfront, residential estate located in Maroochydore adjacent to the

, Australia. It is one of the last canal projects to be built in Queensland with direct access to the river system and the Coral Sea.

Council has an annual dredging program to replenish the sand beaches. The canals plus all infrastructure were built in three stages in the late 1970s, mid 1980s, and the early 1990s. The deep water canal plays a role in flood relief and the land is higher than Maroochydore CBD which has recorded floods in the last 30 years. The canal's main reach, which extends for more than one km, was the training ground for 1992 Olympic K-1 1000 m gold medalist Clint Robinson.

History

Maroochydore Post Office opened on 4 October 1922 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

had been open from 1891 until 1898, and from 1916). Our Lady Star of the Sea (Stella Maris) Catholic Church was officially opened by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-s ...

on Sunday 15 October 1950. It replaced an earlier church which had become inadequate for the growing congregation. The 1950 church could seat 170 people in the nave and a further 150 people on the verandahs on either side of the church. Timber from the recently demolished St Joseph's Catholic Church in Nambour was used to construct the Maroochydore church to reduce the costs. The architect was

Frank Cullen Frank Cullen (1909-1991) was an Australian architect, who designed over 200 churches, school, monasteries, convents and other church related buildings in Queensland and Northern New South Wales, Australia Early life Francis Leo Cullen was b ...

and the contractor was K. D. Morris. The Maroochydore Library opened in 1975. Horton Park Golf Club is in Maroochydore. The club relocated to Bli Bli in May 2015 and changed names to Maroochy River Golf Club. The relocation of the golf course allowed the Sunshine Regional Council to develop the old golf course into a new city centre for the region known as Sunshine Central. The redevelopment is next to Sunshine Cove, a new sustainable residential and commercial development that has revitalized the general town centre and the development won the award from the Urban Development Institute of Australia for the best residential property Development at its annual Australian awards night in 2016. File:StateLibQld 1 91264 Haul of fish on the beach at Maroochydore, Queensland, 1907.jpg, Fish haul, 1907 File:StateLibQld 2 198743 Camping at Maroochydore, Queensland, 1932.jpg, Camping, 1932 File:Cotton Tree Post Office Maroochydore Queensland.tiff, Cotton Tree Post Office

Heritage listings

Cotton Tree has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...

sites, including: * Cotton Tree Parade:

Cotton Tree Caravan Park Cotton Tree Caravan Park is a heritage-listed caravan park at Cotton Tree Parade, Cotton Tree, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 April 2009. History The lower reaches of the ...

Transport

Maroochydore's suburbs are served by

, who operate from outside the

in the CBD. Various bus routes connect Maroochydore to

Coolum 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 t ...

, Kawana Waters,

Caloundra Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia. Geography Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is accessible from Landsborough ...

, Nambour 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 ...

. Maroochydore is accessible via train and connecting bus via Nambour,

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 ...

and Landsborough stations on the Nambour & Gympie North Line has regular services to

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 ...

, operated by

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

. There are also coach services from Sunshine Plaza to

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is the primary international airport serving Brisbane and South East Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, in total amounting to more than 22.7 million passe ...

Sunbus Volvo B12BLE with Bustech VST body

is located just north of the urban centre in

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 ...

. It offers domestic flights to state capital cities around Australia. There are plans to create a new railway line that would extend from the current Gympie North line. The proposed line would connect

, Kawana Waters and Maroochydore with

and would terminate at the Sunshine Coast Airport. A light rail system has also been proposed, which would leave from the Maroochydore CBD and connect the local regional hubs before terminating at Caloundra.

Population

Census populations for the Maroochydore urban centre have been recorded since 1933, and for Mudjimba since 1981.

Amenities

Sunshine Coast Regional Council operates a public library at 44 Sixth Avenue, Cotton Tree. The Maroochydore branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at 104 Memorial Avenue.

Education

The main state secondary school in the town is

Maroochydore State High School Maroochydore State High School (commonly abbreviated as 'MSHS') is a co-educational, state secondary school located on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in the town of Maroochydore, approximately north of Brisbane. It has grown from an enrolment of 20 ...

(1964). Other schools in the area include: * Bli Bli State School (1901) * Kuluin State School (1987) * Maroochydore State School (1921) * Mooloolaba State School (1933) * Mountain Creek State School (1994) *

Mountain Creek State High School Mountain Creek State High School (MCSHS) is a co-ed secondary school and is the largest school on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It is located in the suburb of Mountain Creek, which is situated 96 kilometres (60 mi) north of Brisbane. Structu ...

(1995) * Pacific Paradise State School (1992) * Immanuel Lutheran College (1982) * Stella Maris Catholic Primary School (1980) *Siena Catholic College (1997)

Media

Along with a number of other regional Australian newspapers owned by

NewsCorp News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in N ...

, the '' Kawana/Maroochy Weekly'' newspaper ceased publication in June 2020.

In popular culture

Maroochydore is the sixth town mentioned in the original (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n) version of the song " I've Been Everywhere".

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Maroochydore
{{authority control 1903 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1903 Coastline of Queensland Tourism in Queensland Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region