Noosa, Queensland
Encyclopedia
The Shire of Noosa was a Local Government Area located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Brisbane
in the Sunshine Coast
region of South East
Queensland
, Australia
. The shire covered an area of 868.7 square kilometres (335.4 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the Shire of Maroochy and City of Caloundra
to form the Sunshine Coast Region.
Although much of the culture and presence of the traditional owners of the Noosa district has been lost during the short period of white settlement, there still exist many subtle reminders. These include:
The name Noosa comes from the local Aboriginal
word (Noothera or Gnuthuru in the Kabi Kabi language) for shadow or shady place.
's voyages in May 1770, European settlement in the region did not proceed for almost a century. This early settlement was primarily driven firstly by timber logging
and then secondly a gold rush
in the Gympie
area, north of Noosa. The difficulty of transport in the region, which persisted to the 1920s and beyond, was one major reason for this.
In 1871, the Government laid out a port at Tewantin, which was duly surveyed and by 1877 contained two hotels, a boarding house, school, police station and telegraph office. In 1872, the Noosa Heads and coastal region north to Peregian Beach was set aside as an Aboriginal Mission, however this was cancelled in 1878 and land was opened for selection on 15 January 1879. With the advent of the railway, Tewantin declined in importance.
In the last 50 years Noosa has been transformed from an isolated fishing village to a popular tourist destination. Although this has had its costs the shire is known for its generally greener approach to development. Most development in Noosa has been restrained. Noosa has no high rise buildings, due both to local community pressure and to council planning action, and much remaining native forest. 34.8 per cent of the Noosa district consists of National Park
s, Conservation Park
s, State Forest
s, and other generally protected land.
The popularity of Noosa comes from the fact that is it one of Australia's few North facing beaches located on the East Coast, hence Noosa Beach is relatively protected from on-shore wind and storms.
on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. Noosa was created as a separate shire under the Local Authorities Act 1902 in 1910, with an initial population of 2,000. The first elections were held on 22 April 1910 and resulted in James Duke becoming the first shire chairman. The original headquarters for the Shire were constructed in Pomona
in 1911 on a site now used (since 1985) by the Cooroora Historical Society and Noosa Museum.
In the early 1970s, development commenced with Queensland Government backing in the area around Noosa Sound. In 1980, the Shire Chambers moved to Pelican Street, Tewantin
. Following the election of Noosa's first green mayor, Noel Playford, in 1988, Noosa's first strategic plan was gazetted, and in 1990 development was limited to four storeys. In 1993, a major Council and community complex covering 9 hectares (22.2 acre) opened at Wallace Park, Noosaville
.
On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland
on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Noosa merged with the Shire of Maroochy and the City of Caloundra
to form the Sunshine Coast Region. Noosa's mayor, Bob Abbot, won the mayoralty of the new Council over Maroochy's Joe Natoli with 70% of the combined vote.
s—none of which are actually called Noosa—and a hinterland region which is more rural in focus.
* Split with Shire of Maroochy
Elected by fellow councillors:
.
Noosa Arts Theatre is a flourishing and widely reputed centre for performing arts in the area. In particular the theatre's July 2011 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
, directed by Eileen Walder is set to receive rave reviews. The annual Noosa Longweekend is a popular and extremely large event held in areas around Noosa in June/July of each year, featuring performing, visual and creative arts performances and workshops for all ages. The recently developed The J Centre in Noosa Heads has become another centre for live theatre and musical performances, as well as a secondary campus for the University of the Sunshine Coast
.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in the Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
The Sunshine Coast is an urban area in South East Queensland, north of the state capital of Brisbane on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Although it does not have a central business district, by population it ranks as the 10th largest metropolis in Australia and the third largest in...
region of South East
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The shire covered an area of 868.7 square kilometres (335.4 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the Shire of Maroochy and City of Caloundra
City of Caloundra
The City of Caloundra was a Local Government Area located about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia...
to form the Sunshine Coast Region.
Ancient history
The Noosa area was originally home to several Aboriginal groups. These primarily include the Undumbi tribe to the south, the Dulingbara to the north, and the Gabbi Gabbi to the west.Although much of the culture and presence of the traditional owners of the Noosa district has been lost during the short period of white settlement, there still exist many subtle reminders. These include:
- bora rings, used during rituals.
- canoe trees, marks on trees where bark was removed for canoes.
- border/navigation trees, marks on trees used to mark paths and/or tribal borders.
- stone carvings
- burial treeBurial treeA burial tree or burial scaffold is a tree or simple structure used for supporting corpses or coffins. They were once common among the Balinese, the Naga people, certain Australian Aborigines, and some North American Indian groups....
s - middenMiddenA midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
s, shell mound created by thousands of years of discarded shells. - stone axes
- spoken legends, many local legends which were traditionally passed through the generations survive today.
- place names, many local names are versions of the original Aboriginal names.
The name Noosa comes from the local Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
word (Noothera or Gnuthuru in the Kabi Kabi language) for shadow or shady place.
Early European settlement
Although reports of the area can be traced back to Captain CookJames Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's voyages in May 1770, European settlement in the region did not proceed for almost a century. This early settlement was primarily driven firstly by timber logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and then secondly a gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
in the Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
area, north of Noosa. The difficulty of transport in the region, which persisted to the 1920s and beyond, was one major reason for this.
In 1871, the Government laid out a port at Tewantin, which was duly surveyed and by 1877 contained two hotels, a boarding house, school, police station and telegraph office. In 1872, the Noosa Heads and coastal region north to Peregian Beach was set aside as an Aboriginal Mission, however this was cancelled in 1878 and land was opened for selection on 15 January 1879. With the advent of the railway, Tewantin declined in importance.
In the last 50 years Noosa has been transformed from an isolated fishing village to a popular tourist destination. Although this has had its costs the shire is known for its generally greener approach to development. Most development in Noosa has been restrained. Noosa has no high rise buildings, due both to local community pressure and to council planning action, and much remaining native forest. 34.8 per cent of the Noosa district consists of National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s, Conservation Park
Conservation park
Conservation park is a type of specially protected status for land held by the Crown for conservation purposes.In New Zealand this land is administered by the Department of Conservation and was set up under the Conservation Act 1987. As of 31 March 2005, New Zealand's Conservation parks consisted...
s, State Forest
State forest
A state forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state.The precise application of the term varies by jurisdiction...
s, and other generally protected land.
The popularity of Noosa comes from the fact that is it one of Australia's few North facing beaches located on the East Coast, hence Noosa Beach is relatively protected from on-shore wind and storms.
Council history
The area was originally incorporated as part of the Widgee Divisional BoardShire of Cooloola
The Shire of Cooloola was a Local Government Area located about north of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and was the product of a merger in 1993 between the City of Gympie and the Shire of Widgee, which had both existed since 1879-1880...
on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. Noosa was created as a separate shire under the Local Authorities Act 1902 in 1910, with an initial population of 2,000. The first elections were held on 22 April 1910 and resulted in James Duke becoming the first shire chairman. The original headquarters for the Shire were constructed in Pomona
Pomona, Queensland
Pomona is a town located at the base of Mount Cooroora at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Pinbarren siding and was renamed Pomona in 1906, after the Roman goddess of fruit and orchards...
in 1911 on a site now used (since 1985) by the Cooroora Historical Society and Noosa Museum.
In the early 1970s, development commenced with Queensland Government backing in the area around Noosa Sound. In 1980, the Shire Chambers moved to Pelican Street, Tewantin
Tewantin, Queensland
Tewantin is a suburb in Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It was the original settlement in the Noosa region and is one of its three major centres today.-History:...
. Following the election of Noosa's first green mayor, Noel Playford, in 1988, Noosa's first strategic plan was gazetted, and in 1990 development was limited to four storeys. In 1993, a major Council and community complex covering 9 hectares (22.2 acre) opened at Wallace Park, Noosaville
Noosaville, Queensland
Noosaville is a suburb in Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It includes Lake Weyba. "Weyba" is believed to mean "place of stingrays" or "place of flying squirrels". Noosaville also contains a development with canals called Noosa Waters...
.
On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland
Parliament of Queensland
The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. According to the state's constitution, the Parliament consists of the Queen and the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state parliament in the country, the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, having been...
on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Noosa merged with the Shire of Maroochy and the City of Caloundra
City of Caloundra
The City of Caloundra was a Local Government Area located about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia...
to form the Sunshine Coast Region. Noosa's mayor, Bob Abbot, won the mayoralty of the new Council over Maroochy's Joe Natoli with 70% of the combined vote.
Structure
The council consisted of an elected mayor and nine councillors—three representing Division One, which covered the vast majority of the Shire's area, and two representing each of Divisions 2 (Tewantin and northern beaches), 3 (Noosaville) and 4 (southern beaches).Towns and localities
The Shire of Noosa contains both a cluster of suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s—none of which are actually called Noosa—and a hinterland region which is more rural in focus.
Noosa:
Coastal Region:
|
Hinterland:
|
Population
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1933 | 5,768 |
| 1947 | 5,925 |
| 1954 | 6,296 |
| 1961 | 6,117 |
| 1966 | 6,673 |
| 1971 | 7,746 |
| 1976 | 10,825 |
| 1981 | 17,071 |
| 1986 | 20,328 |
| 1991 | 29,378 |
| 1996 | 41,171 |
| 2001 | 47,321 |
| 2006 | 51,962 |
Mayors of Noosa Shire
Directly elected:- Bob Abbot (1997–2008)
- Noel Playford OAM (1988–1997)
- Bert Wansley AM (1980–1988)
- Ian MacDonald (1964–1980)
- S.T. (Stanley) Adams (1958–1964)
- Victor Gee (1955–1958)
- Robert McAnally (1946–1955)
- William Ferguson (1939–1946)
- Charles Crank (1930–1939)
- Frederick Bryan (1927–1930)
- William Ferguson (1921–1927)
Elected by fellow councillors:
- Alexander Parker (1920–1921)
- Charles Crank (1919–1920)
- Alexander Chapman (1918–1919)
- Alexander Parker (1917–1918)
- Charles Livingstone (1916–1917)
- Alexander Chapman (1915–1916)
- Eugene von Blankensee (1914–1915)
- Frank Conroy (1911–1914)
- James Duke (1910–1911)
Culture
The Noosa Film Festival was held in Noosa between September 2 and 8 in 1999. A number of festivals are also held in Noosa including the Noosa Festival of SurfingNoosa Festival of Surfing
The Noosa Festival of Surfing was established in 1992 at Noosa, Queensland by members of the Noosa Malibu Club, as an amateur surfing competition called the Noosa Malibu Classic. It allowed club members to invite friends to surf Noosa's right-hand point breaks and the event's popularity among...
.
Noosa Arts Theatre is a flourishing and widely reputed centre for performing arts in the area. In particular the theatre's July 2011 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, directed by Eileen Walder is set to receive rave reviews. The annual Noosa Longweekend is a popular and extremely large event held in areas around Noosa in June/July of each year, featuring performing, visual and creative arts performances and workshops for all ages. The recently developed The J Centre in Noosa Heads has become another centre for live theatre and musical performances, as well as a secondary campus for the University of the Sunshine Coast
University of the Sunshine Coast
The University of the Sunshine Coast is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Having opened in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College with 524 students, the institution was renamed the University of the Sunshine Coast in 1999. In 2011, the student body was...
.
See also
- Noosa National ParkNoosa National ParkNoosa 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 Lake Weyba to Coolum...
- Noosa Festival of SurfingNoosa Festival of SurfingThe Noosa Festival of Surfing was established in 1992 at Noosa, Queensland by members of the Noosa Malibu Club, as an amateur surfing competition called the Noosa Malibu Classic. It allowed club members to invite friends to surf Noosa's right-hand point breaks and the event's popularity among...
- Noosa Longweekend
- Noosa Arts Theatre
Further reading
- (2005). Noosa Shire Council Home. Retrieved May 4, 2005.
External links
- Noosa News - Latest news, local stories and sport from Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Tourism Noosa Website - News, natural history and township history, Noosa community events & visitor information
- http://www.noosaartstheatre.org.au/default.aspx - Noosa Arts Theatre Official Website
- http://www.noosalongweekend.com/ - Noosa Longweekend Annual Event Official Website