Annual Report 2023-24

                                                                                                                    Our Shire
     Our Noosa Story
     The traditional owners of the land and waters of        from Gympie came to stay on the riverbank for
     Noosa Shire are the Kabi Kabi First Nations People.     restful fishing. Holidaymakers would continue to
     They have lived here for countless generations;         grow over the next 150 years, especially once cars
     tens of thousands of years stretching back              became common from the 1930s. A commitment
     into time immemorial. Kabi Kabi have a deep             to building roads, bridges and amenities to
     connection to this country. Their culture is entwined   accommodate these tourists increased their
     with the environment through land, river and sea,       number.
     including an intimate knowledge of the flora, fauna,
     ecology and seasons. This continued connection          A sense of collective identity within the early
     links past, present and the future. Colonial interest   townships of Tewantin, Pomona, Cooran and
     in Noosa began in the 1860s with access to timber       Cooroy heralded independence from the Widgee
     via the estuary and lakes. Huge volumes of trees        Shire and the predominance of Gympie. Noosa
     were removed in the following decades, including        Shire was created and celebrated in 1910. Shortly
     the highly sought-after red cedar and giant kauri       afterwards, the Shire took great pride in its
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     pines. A sawmill was built at Lake Cootharaba in        contribution during the First World War, with 400
     1869 and a town and port were soon established          enlistments from its tiny population and record
     at Tewantin. Following the discovery of gold at         fundraising. Just one generation later, Noosa’s
     Gympie in 1867, a track was cut to the Noosa River      efforts were remarkable once again in its effort to
     via Cooran, which allowed a faster, easier route        defend Australia during the Second World War.
     between the goldmines and the capital city.
                                                             On a small scale, fishing was one of Noosa’s initial
     When the railway between Brisbane and Gympie            commercial enterprises. This had increased
     was finally completed in 1891, it provided greater      markedly by the 1940s and grew exponentially
     access to the more distant markets for the young        after the war when prawning became a significant
     hinterland townships of Cooran, Pomona and              industry. Overfishing was recognised by the
     Cooroy. Simultaneously it brought new families and      1960s, and limitations began to be implemented
     workers to the area who created farms to replace        on commercial fishing to ensure the ongoing
     the declining timber, dairy and small cropping          enjoyment of recreational and subsistence
     industries. As township populations expanded,           fishing. The annual Festival of the Waters began




                                                                                                                    Noosa Council Annual Report 23/24
     schools, churches, and small businesses were            celebrating the Noosa River and surfing became
     established to support the communities’ needs.          a phenomenon with Noosa Heads becoming
                                                             a nationally recognised surfing destination. In
     Noosa quickly made a name for itself as a place of      2020, this culture of coastal management and
     natural beauty and a holiday destination. From as       preservation led to Noosa becoming the world’s
     early as the 1870s, a handful of moneyed miners         10th World Surfing Reserve.