Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb of Maroochydore 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 co ...

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. It is located north of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and is part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 7,730 people.

Geography

Mooloolaba Esplanade at Mooloolaba, Queensland

Mooloolaba is bounded on the east by the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fren ...

, on the south by the Mooloolah River, on the north by Alexandra Headland and to the west by

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" is ...

. Mooloolaba Harbour (near the mouth of the Mooloolah River, ) is the home of a large fleet of fishing vessels, as well as being the northern base for the pilot vessels that control shipping through

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

and the Port of Brisbane. Due to its sheltered location in the lee of Point Cartwright, it is an all-weather harbour favoured by recreational sailors. The

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

facing Mooloolaba beach is a centre for tourist activity, containing the Sea Life marine park (), as well as many souvenir and clothing shops, bookshops, galleries and restaurants. Behind the apartments facing the Mooloolaba Beach () are camping grounds, backpacker hostels and canal villas. It is also a tourism destination, with

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours know ...

regularly anchoring outside the port. Mooloolaba is serviced by coach from Brisbane, by train and connecting bus via Nambour, Woombye, Landsborough station, and by air from the Sunshine Coast Airport.

History

Mooloolaba derives from the

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

word ''mulu'', meaning snapper fish, or ''mulla'' meaning Red-bellied Black Snake. Originally known as Mooloolah Heads, the name was changed to Mooloolaba by Thomas O'Connor in 1919 when he subdivided land for sale there. A Methodist church hall was opened on Saturday 28 January 1933. Mooloolaba Provisional School opened on 2 May 1933. On 24 January 1938 it became Mooloolaba State School. In September 1954 Archbishop Reginald Halse performed a stump-capping ceremony for the new

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

at Mooloolaba. St Elizabeth's Anglican Church was dedicated on 2 November 1954 by Archbishop Halse. Its closure on 2 April 2006 was approved by Venerable R N Gowty, Archdeacon of Wide Bay. The congregation had dwindled to 17 people and a property developer offered a sum for the block in First Avenue (approx ) described as "safely estimated to be in the millions" to combine the church land with other parcels to build a high-rise residential development. The plan was to combine St Elizabeth's with St Peter's Anglican in Maroochydore and have only one Anglican church in the area. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 7,730 people.

Education

Mooloolaba State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at the corner Meta and Douglas Streets (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 677 students with 45 teachers (39 full-time equivalent) and 20 non-teaching staff (15 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. There are no secondary schools in Moloolaba. The nearest secondary school is Mountain Creek State High School in neighbouring

Mountain Creek Mountain Creek is a ski resort in Vernon Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on New Jersey Route 94, from the George Washington Bridge. Mountain Creek contains of skiing area, night skiing, snowboardin ...

Amenities

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council operates a

mobile library A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...

service which visits Moondarra Drive. The Mooloolaba Uniting Church is at 6 Meta Street (). The Greek Orthodox Parish of the Sunshine Coast meets at the Uniting Church at 6 Meta Street once a month.

Sports

Mooloolaba is also home to the Mooloolaba Triathlon and the Sydney to Mooloolaba Yacht Race. It is also home to various on beach events.

In popular culture

Mooloolaba featured in the fourth season of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

''. Evangelist Peter Foxhall and Pastor Bill Furler pioneered an

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

church at the Mooloolaba Surf Lifesaving Club in the mid-1980s. The town was also the home of the

Christian pop/rock Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith an ...

band Newsboys and is mentioned in their song "RSL 1984" from '' In the Hands of God''. It is the fourth town mentioned in the original Australian version of the song " I've Been Everywhere". In August and September 2015, the town garnered media attention when a French woman recorded a video claiming to have had a one-night stand with a male resident of Mooloolaba, asking him to come forward. It turned out to have been a promotional advert for the town, masterminded by a British social media expert - the woman was a French university student and actress.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region Maroochydore Beaches of Queensland