2015-06-23 I&S Agenda - Item 5 - Local Disaster Recovery Plan - Attachment 2

                           Noosa Local Disaster Recovery Plan 2015/2016


27.2 Noosa human/social profile
Noosa Shire is located in South East Queensland, approximately 120 kilometres north of
Brisbane. The region is bounded by the Gympie Regional Council in the north and west, and
the Sunshine Coast Regional Council to the south.

The Shire encompasses a total land area of 871.6 km2 with over 800 kilometres of roads
and nearly 450 kilometres of bikeways.

The Shire is the catchment for the Noosa River and its tributaries that flow to the east and
the Mary River and its tributaries including Six Mile Creek which flow to the north.

Much of the native vegetation of the region has been removed or greatly modified, and the
main forms of native vegetation that remain include tall open eucalypt forests along the
western borders and remnants of melaleuca forest and open heaths along the coast.

Some 28,655 hectares of Noosa is considered to have outstanding environmental,
biodiversity and natural history values and is managed primarily for conservation. A further
30,653 hectares of land is predominantly undeveloped and sustainably managed through
voluntary agreements such as Land for Wildlife.

Major natural features of the shire include: Great Sandy National Park, Laguna Bay, Lake
Cooroibah, Lake Cootharaba, Lake Macdonald, Lake Weyba, Mt Cooroora, Mt Cooroy, Mt
Tinbeerwah, Noosa National Park, the Noosa River, Ringtail State Forest, the Six Mile
Creek, Tewantin National Park, and Yurol State Forest.

Indigenous background
The original inhabitants of the Noosa Council area are the Kabi Kabi or Gubbi Gubbi
Aboriginal people.

Settlement history
European settlement dates from the 1850s, with land used mainly for grazing and timber-
getting. Population was minimal until the 1860s, when several townships were established
and agriculture, including sugar-cane growing, became more popular. Growth took place
from the late 1800s into the early 1900s, spurred by the opening of the railway line between
Brisbane and Gympie in 1891. Land was then used for fruit growing and dairy farming.
Expansion continued during the 1920s and 1930s aided by tourism and improved access.
Significant development occurred during the post-war years, particularly from the late 1960s.

Demography
In 2013 the estimated population of the Shire was 52,400 persons.

The bulk of the population (38750 people) lives along the coast extending from Peregian
Beach in the south to Tewantin in the north. Population density in the coastal region is
approximately 400 persons per square kilometre.

In the hinterland the overall population density is around 25 persons per square kilometre.
The largest hinterland towns are Cooroy, Cooran and Pomona; all of which are located
along the railway corridor. Other centres of population are Boreen Point, Federal and Kin
Kin. Smaller clusters of rural residential settlement also occur throughout the hinterland.
The dominant housing form in the Shire is a detached house and this is most particularly the
case in Tewantin and the hinterland. In Noosa Heads and Noosaville up to 20% of occupied
private dwellings take the form of units or apartments and over 18% are semi-detached
(generally duplexes). Along the eastern beaches nearly 14% of occupied private dwellings
are apartments and approximately the same proportion is semi-detached.
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