Sunshine Coast

History

The earliest residents of the Sunshine Coast were the indigenous Gubbi Gubbi and Wakka Wakka people. The territory of the Kabi includes about along the coastline from the 27th parallel northward to the mouth of the Burrum River. In 1770, James Cook on the deck of HM Bark Endeavour became the first known European to sight the Glass House Mountains, located south-west of Caloundra. In the 1820s, former convicts John Finnegan, Thomas Pamphlett and Richard Parsons landed on Moreton Island 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 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…

Geography

Major rivers of the Sunshine Coast include Noosa River, Maroochy River, Mooloolah River and the Stanley River. The region includes several lakes such as Lake Cootharaba and Lake Weyba. Ewen Maddock Dam, Wappa Dam and Baroon Pocket Dam have been built for water storage. Several stretches of the Sunshine Coast are lined with unbroken beaches – from Sunshine Beach near Noosa to Coolum Beach (); the coast from Point Arkwright to Mudjimba (); the Maroochydore–Mooloolaba stretch (); and from Buddina past the Caloundra CBD to Pelican Waters (). Noosa Main Beach, Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba (the spit) and Coolum Beach are nationally recognised surfing beaches. Notable beaches include: * Sunshine Beach in Noosa * Sunrise Beach in Noosa * Castaways Beach in Noosa * Marcus Beach in Noosa * Peregian Beach in Noosa * Marcoola, Maroochydore * Mudjimba, Maroochydore * Mooloolaba, Mooloolaba * 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 The Sunshine Coast is home to more individual national parks 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, Noosa National Park, and the Great Sandy National Park, which includes sections on K'gari and in Cooloola near Rainbow Beach. Sunshine Coast has a humid subtropical climate (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…

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  6,403
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  5,855
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  5,781
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  5,639
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  5,230
• Lewin's Honeyeater

  Meliphaga lewinii (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  5,089
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  4,980
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  4,407