Mudjimba is a coastal

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the

Sunshine Coast Region The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia, from which it takes its name. It was created by the amalgamation in 2008 of the City of Caloundra and the Shires o ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, and forms part of the

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the urban area of Maroochydore had a population of 63,673 people. The city was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Conno ...

urban centre. In the , Mudjimba had a population of 2,664 people.

Geography

The suburb is bounded by Mudjimba Beach on the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

to the east, the David Low Way to the north and north-west, and Ocean Drive to the south. There are two main residential areas in the suburb, one in the north-east beside the beach and the one along Najoor Road in the west of the suburb. The southern part of the suburb is a protected area within the

Maroochy River Conservation Park 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 ...

. There are various small areas of marshland throughout the suburb. Mudjimba Island sits about off the coast. (). The island forms part of the suburb and is protected as part of the Maroochy River Conservation Park. The island is known as Old Woman Island, and is associated with an Aboriginal legend of two women who stranded on the island who gathered the Midyam berries as food.

History

The name ''Mudjimba'' is derived from the

Kabi language Gubbi Gubbi, also spelt Kabi Kabi, is a language of Queensland in Australia, formerly spoken by the Kabi Kabi people of South-east Queensland. The main dialect, Gubbi Gubbi, is extinct, but there are still 24 people with knowledge of the Butc ...

word ''midyim/mudjim'' for a local plant, the Midyam ('' Austromyrtus tenuifolia'') bush, which has sweet white berries with green spots. The Kabi legend is that two women were stranded on Mudjimba island and gathered the berries as food. The Mudjimba Residents Association was established on 13 October 1960. The initial development of the area as a beachside suburb was under the name ''Surfrider Estate.'' Mudjimba Rural Fire Brigade was established in February 1985 with Harry Stuart the first fire warden. Mudjimba Surf Life Saving Club was founded in 1996. HMAS Brisbane

In January 2003, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

decided to sink the decommissioned ''HMAS Brisbane'' off the Sunshine Coast to become an

artificial reef An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote Marine biology#Reefs, marine life, it may be intended to control #Erosion prevention, erosio ...

and

dive site Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this c ...

. On 31 July 2005 the ship was

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

in approximately off the coast of Mudjimba in of water. The ship was filled with of concrete, and 38 small charges were detonated to breach the hull. The ship sank in two minutes and ten seconds, coming to rest with the keel embedded a metre into the seabed and facing the ocean currents, and the uppermost part of the ship below sea level. A 2009 study of the value of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s estimated that the wreck had contributed A$18 million to the Sunshine Coast economy. In July 2010, the

was forced to step up patrols of the wreck site because people were illegally using the dive exclusion zone as a fishing site. As part of celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the ship's scuttling, 92.7 MIX FM conducted the world's first live underwater radio broadcast from the wreck on 31 July 2015.

Demographics

In the , Mudjimba had a population of 2,540 people. In the , Mudjimba had a population of 2,664 people.

Education

There are no schools in Mudjimba. The nearest primary school is Pacific Paradise State School in neighbouring Pacific Paradise to the west. The nearest secondary school is

Maroochydore State High School Maroochydore State High School (commonly abbreviated as 'MSHS') is a co-educational, state secondary school located on the Sunshine Coast in the town of Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. It has grown from an enrolment of 200 students in its ...

to the south.

Transport

Sunshine Coast Airport Sunshine Coast Airport (formerly Maroochydore Airport) is an Australian international airport located in Marcoola, north of Maroochydore, roughly centrally located along the coast of the Sunshine Coast Region. It is approximately north o ...

is located adjacent to the suburb; the

Kinetic Group Kinetic Group (stylised as K''I''NET''I''C; formerly known as AATS Group) is an Australian-based multinational bus company that wholly owns a number of bus operations in Australia and New Zealand, including the SkyBus business, which operates ...

depot is near the airport. Only a small fraction of residents, approximately 0.2%, rely on public transport for their daily commute to work or school, while households typically have an average of 2 vehicles each.

Amenities

Mudjimba Community Hall is 41 Cottonwood Street (). The hall is operated by the Mudjimba Residents' Association and is available for hire. Mudjimba Surf Life Saving Club is at 20 Mudjimba Esplanade (). Mudjimba Rural Fire Station is at Cottonwood Street (). The brigade is operated by volunteers. North Shore Multi Sports Complex and North Shore Community Centre at 701 David Low Way (). A range of sporting and recreational activities are available. North Shore Football Club has a soccer field at 53 Nojoor Road (). Mudjimba War Memorial is at Power Memorial Park on the foreshore opposite 11 Mudjimba Esplanade (). The park also has beach access, car parking, barbeque facilities, toilets and a children's playground. The Mudjimba RSL sub-branch is at 43 Cottonwood Street (). It coordinates the annual dawn service on

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

at the war memorial.

Attractions

The Mystery of Old Woman Island - Flickr - PaulBalfe

Although a buffer of coastal bushland has been maintained along the foreshore, Mudjimba Beach () can be accessed from Mudjimba Esplanade via a series of paths through the bushland. It is known as a good beach break for surfing. Mudjimba Island is also known as a surfing area but only for expert surfers; a boat is recommended to access the island. Ex-HMAS Brisbane is a dive site (). The wreck site has been colonised by

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

soft coral Alcyonacea is the old scientific order name for the informal group known as "soft corals". It is now an unaccepted name for class Octocorallia. It became deprecated . The following text should be considered a historical, outdated way of treatin ...

s, and hard corals, while over 200 different species of fish have been sighted in the area. It is a restricted access area requiring a dive permit. Commercial dive tours are available and can provide transport, equipment, guides and permits. A walking track through the Maroochy River Conservation Park commences at Cottonwood Street (corner Coolibah Street, . It passes through a variety of natural vegetation types and includes boardwalks and bridges to traverse the paperbark swamp. The Mudjimba Beach Holiday Park on Cottonwood Street () provides cabins and site for caravans and campers.

References

External links

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