HISTORY

The History of Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast

 

It was during the year of 1861 that a marine surveyor by the name of Lieutenant Heath passed by the mouth of what was then known as ‘Murrula River’ by the early settlers to the area.

It was the name used when referring to the beach near the river, now commonly known today as ‘Mooloolaba’

At the time of surveying the area it was noted in Lieutenant Heath’s report that 20 to 30 aboriginal people were spotted on the beach, no doubt curious of the visitors.

The actual word ‘Mooloolaba’ is thought to have derived either from ‘mulu’ the Aboriginal word for snapper fish, or ‘mullu’ meaning red-bellied black snake.

Sadly in the present day Mooloolaba, it is very uncommon to see any descendents of the original indigenous natives of the Mooloolaba area as they were all forced out of the area by the White settlers, or kept as farm hands mainly in the Buderim region.

There is very little recognition or evidence of the original indigenous people that once called Mooloolaba home. While we have memorials build for other locals such as Steve Irwin, the Corocdile Hunter, there stands no memorials to those that were forced to leave their coastal home when the white settlers claimed ownership of the land for their own.

The name Mooloolah Heads was first given to the area between the mouth of the Mooloolah River and the site of the present Charles Clarke Park on River Esplanade.

 Mooloolaba was established as a timber cutting depot in the late 1860’s, with William Pettigrew establishing his timber depot close to the mouth of the river. Steamers would ship his products to Mooloolaba via the wharf built and maintained by James Low.

It was in the early 1900’s that the land that Pettigrew owned was acquired by Thomas O’Connor, a surveyor, who surveyed and subdivided the Mooloolah Heads ownership in 1915, to initiate a seaside tourist destination initially for the local residents of Buderim that were looking for a beachside getaway from their farms.

A number of cottages began to dot the foreshores of the river where Charles Clarke park is today, as the conditions were ideal for boating and fishing.

Amongst these dwellings was a larger building, known as the ‘Sugar Shed’, which was originally built back in 1865 to store sugar which was transported from Buderim either via horse or bullock, for transport to Brisbane.

Due the to the popularity of the area, in 1922 the Mooloolah River Surf Lifesaving Club was established by a small bunch of locals, however as the name was quite wordy, the ‘River’ was dropped from the name, and shortly after that, it was renamed to Mooloolaba, instead of Mooloolah-Bar.

In 1923 Mooloolaba’s first boardinghouse was opened, called ‘Wharemoana’.

It was a few years later that the first Post Office was established in Mooloolaba.
at this stage Mooloolaba was primarily a dairy farming community, and it wasn’t unusual to see cows and goats freely roaming the area.

Charles Clarke, to which the popular park is named after, was a one of the local Mooloolaba area’s prominent community members, purchasing the land in 1925 where the public jetty is now.

Charles has been the manager of the Palmwoods-Buderim tram line, and prio to that he started the first bus service which would travel to Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland and Buderim, in a Ford Model T truck with a wagon.

With more new arrivals, the Lanham brothers, who specialised in timber carpentry, build a boarding house, general store and cafe for Charles on his land, which was a two storey building called ‘Bondoola’. While the building has long been demolished, the apartment block by the same name now stands at the same location as a historical reminder.

By 1930, houses started appearing, replacing the holiday shacks and the Sugar Shed from more permanent residences.

Possibly one of the biggest changes to the Mooloolaba area was the purchase of the land from Burnett Street to Meta Street in 1935, which became the ocean esplanade, offering lots of land for approximately $300 each. This same land is worth multi-millions of dollars today.

By the 1940’s Mooloolaba had it’s own picture theatre, which was located where the Landmark building now standard on the corner of Brisbane Road, and a wooden bathing pavilion, and a small school.

With fishing overtaking farming in the Mooloolaba area, by the late 1960’s Mooloolaba had a fleet of approximately 30 boats, primarily for prawning.

Mullet was also another popular catch, with loads transported to Brisbane from the Ice Works which was once situated on the corner of Parkyn Parade and the River Esplanade.

A fish board was established in Mooloolaba around the 1950’s where the Wharf Complex sits today, but relocated some time later down to the Spit area of Mooloolaba.

As Mooloolaba became more popular, A rotary Club was established, and the annual popular Mooloolaba Prawn Festival became an event not to be missed. The festival ran from 1974 -1984, and was one of the most popular events across the Sunshine Coast, with raft races, and a parade through the streets of Mooloolaba.

With the area now well established as a popular tourist destination, in 1975 the first ‘high rise’ was built on Parkyn Parade at 84 the Spit, along with a number of other low rise apartment complexes primarily for tourists.