|
| Caloundra with the Glass
House Mountains in the background
|
Caloundra (including Palmview)
Delightful holiday beach resort town within easy reach of
Brisbane.
In recent times Caloundra has changed. Once a truly classic
Queensland retirement town - units with ocean views, senior
citizens making their way carefully along the beachfront,
old men tossing fishing lines in Pumicestone Channel - it
has now become a mixture of young commuters (it is only 91
km north of Brisbane via a four-lane highway), holiday
makers and retirees, with migration occurring chiefly from
Brisbane, New South Wales and Victoria. The population, for
example, has ballooned from 2800 in 1961 to around 25,000
today (with about 70,000 in the local government area which
covers 1100 square kilometres), with growth exploding from
around 1986. This demographic expansion has been accompanied
by commercial growth, which also caters to around 50,000
visitors who arrive over each summer. The local economy
revolves around tourism, clothing production, building
supplies, boat, coach and aircraft manufacturing and small
goods.
On any morning, in the narrow strait between Caloundra
and the northern tip of Bribie Island, there are people
fishing for their breakfast or maybe their lunch or dinner.
Caloundra is that kind of place, although its development
means that it has all appropriate accommodation (from
exclusive resorts to caravan parks) and facilities,
commercial and governmental, as well as a popular race track
and an aerodrome.
|
| Old men tossing fishing
lines into the Pumicestone Passage
|
The local government area of the City of Caloundra
extends north to Buddina and south to
Bribie Island and Beerburrum. It is noted for its
excellent surf beaches, extending southwards from Buddina,
Warana, Bokarina and Wurtulla (forming a continuous strand
backed by The Esplanade Park), across Currimundi Lake, and
on through the more centrally located beaches of Ballinger,
Dicky, Moffat, Shelly, Kings, Bulcock and Golden Beaches. It
also sweeps westwards through the attractive hinterland to
include the Glass House Mountains, the Blackall Range, and
country villages such as Beerwah,
Landsborough,
Mooloolah,
Maleny, Witta and Conondale. With its greenery, near
perfect climate, easy lifestyle, and the ideal conditions
which prevail, in Pumicestone Channel, for fishing and water
sports, the city of Caloundra is fittingly known as the most
southerly resort on the Sunshine Coast.
The Blackall Range area is thought to have been occupied
by the Gubbi-Gubbi people prior to European investigation.
They gathered once every few years on the banks of Obi Obi
Creek at Baroon Pocket to feast on Bunya nuts.
The first European to sight the Caloundra area was
Captain James Cook who noted and named the Glass House
Mountains in May 1770. Perceiving a similarity between the
unusual shapes of these volcanic plugs and the glass
furnaces in his native Yorkshire, he named them the 'Glass
Houses'.
The next explorer was Matthew Flinders who, in 1799,
entered the channel which lies between modern day Caloundra
and Bribie Island, staying in the area for fifteen days.
Because of the pumicestone on the shoreline he named it
Pumicestone River, which subsequently became known as
Pumicestone Passage. Flinders ventured ashore and climbed
Mount Beerburrum on 26 July, 1799.
The first European settlers in the Caloundra area didn't
arrive until 1862 as the land grab, which started in the
early 1840s, had concentrated on the Darling Downs and the
fertile lands north of the Brisbane River Valley. The first
permanent settler in the area was John Ballinger who
selected land for sheep-raising south of Lake Currimundi.
Perhaps the most important nineteenth-century settler was
the explorer William Landsborough who, with a £2000 reward
from the Queensland government, purchased 2372 acres of what
is now Golden Beach, on Pumicestone Passage, in 1882.
Although he only lived another four years, during which time
he grazed sheep, Landsborough Shire is named in his honour.
It was during the 1880s that Caloundra began to acquire
its reputation as a seaside resort. The first hotel was
built in 1885 on Shelley Beach and by 1905 Wilson's Guest
House offered holidays on Dicky Beach. A bakery was built in
1909 and the first general store appeared the following
year.
While the fertile inland soils were used to grow maize,
oats, sugar and tobacco and the local dairy industry
prospered, all Caloundra could offer was tourism.
Anne Wensley's An Introduction to The History of
Caloundra is an informative and useful publication on the
area.
Things to see:
$HEAD
Tourist Information
Caloundra has its own tourist information centre, located
at 7 Caloundra Rd, tel: (07) 5491 0202 or 1800 644 969.
Beaches and Boat Ramps
The local government area is noted for its excellent surf
beaches, extending southwards for 30 km from Buddina Beach
through Kings and Bulcock Beaches at Caloundra city centre,
south to Pelican Waters in the Pumicestone Channel.
Buddina Beach has a surf lifesaving club, offering
swimming, surfing and snorkelling. From here there is a
continuous 8-km strand, backed by foreshore parkland,
extending south through Warana, Bokarina and Wurtulla to
Currimundi Lake and the Environmental Park on its northern
shore. Canoeing, fishing, boating and swimming can be
enjoyed in the lake (there is a boat ramp in Lara St),
though its waters are not patrolled. The adjacent beach area
to the south is patrolled on weekends and in the summer
school holidays.
South of Currimundi Beach is Dicky Beach, named after the
SS Dicky which ran aground there in 1893. One of the more
popular of the area's beaches, it is patrolled every day,
offering swimming, fishing and surfing, as well as
children's play facilities, a skate park and picnic-barbecue
facilities.
At the southern end of Dicky Beach is a rocky outcrop
which separates it from Moffat Beach which is named after
Brisbane chemist James C. Moffat who built a holiday house
here in 1883. A plaque on Moffat Headland commemorates the
occasion in 1863 when a burial party was washed up on the
rocks here and marooned. They had been attempting to bury a
female passenger who had died on board the Queen of Colonies
ship. On the other side of Moffat Head is Shelly Beach.
Moffat and Shelly Beaches offer especially good beach
fishing opportunities.
At the southern end of Shelly Beach is rocky Caloundra
Head (also known as Wickham Point). A plaque here recalls
the loss of 301 men and women, crew and medical staff, on
board the Centaur which was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese
forces ten miles east of Cape Moreton in 1943.
From here the coastline veers southwest before picking up
sandy beaches again at Kings Beach, which offers safe
swimming (the beach is patrolled daily), surfing and
snorkelling. There are picnic and barbecue facilities, an
ocean pool at the northern end of Kings Beach and a boat
ramp nearby on Caloundra Head (The Esplanade).
Beyond Kings Beach is Caloundra Bar, formed between
Deepwater Point and the northern end of Bribie Island. The
bar is considered extremely dangerous so please do not
attempt to cross it in a boat. From this point visitors are
in the calm waters of Pumicestone Channel, which lies
between the mainland and Bribie Island.
Just west of Deepwater Point is Bulcock Beach, adjacent
the main shopping area of Caloundra. It is patrolled daily,
offering safe swimming, boating, fishing, windsurfing,
barbecues, picnicking, play facilities, a boat ramp next to
the jetty (off Bulcock St) and a boardwalk along The
Esplanade.
From here the coastline veers south to Golden Beach,
offering calm waters for safe swimming, boating,
windsurfing, fishing and waterskiing with jetties, play
facilities, and foreshore barbecues and picnic tables.
Golden Beach Hire, on The Esplanade (opposite Gregory St),
hire out sailboards, boogyboards, kayaks, surf skis and
catamarans and offer tuition in sailboards and catamarans,
tel: (07) 5492 4344. Silver Bream Boat Hire are located at
126 The Esplanade, tel: (07) 5492 1222. There is a power
boat club at the southern end of Golden Beach and a sailing
club at the northern end.
The Esplanade follows the coastline south over the
entrance to Lamerough Canal to Pelican Waters which has a
jetty, a fine golf course and other sporting facilities.
There are four boat ramps at the southern end of The
Esplanade: one at Golden Beach (on the northern side of the
Lamerough Canal estuary), and three at Pelican Waters (two
just south of the Lamerough estuary and one at the Bells
Creek estuary).
Blue Water Kayak Tours operate in Pumicestone Passage and
Moreton Bay, tel: (07) 5494 7789 while Island Cruises
operate two-hour cruises, full-day wine and dine tours and
charters along the Passage and the northern tip of Bribie
Island, tel: (07) 5494 7896.
Two Coastal Walks
It is pleasant to wander around the coastline from the
boardwalk at Bulcock Beach, along public paths, past
Deepwater Point to Kings Beach, where the Centaur memorial
commemorates the torpedoeing of a vessel off Cape Morton in
1943, and on around the rocky headland known as Wickham
Point to Shelly Beach - a distance of some 2.5 km. En route
are barbecues, playgrounds, toilets and showers.
Alternatively one can walk or cycle south from Bulcock
Beach via Tay Ave, Bulcock St, Landsborough Parade and The
Esplanade, along the shore of Pumicestone Channel to Diamond
Head - a distance of 5 km.
Walk of Stars
A novelty factor walk at Caloundra is from the Velvet Waters
restaurant (a rock'n'roll theme restaurant), at the lower
end of Bulcock St (Caloundra's main drag), up the hill,
passing tributes to Australian rock figures.
Pumicestone Channel
The calm waters of Pumicestone Channel (hemmed in between
Bribie Island and the mainland) are a marine park. They are
immensely popular for boating, fishing and other watersports.
Boats are available for hire.
Ben Bennett Botanical Park and Other Greenery
This lovely patch of greenery is located in Queen St, just
south of the golf course. It is home to many birds and
boasts a range of trees and wildflowers. These include a
patch of vine forest (a rarity in this region), melaleuca,
eucalypts, hakea, casuarinas and a water-lily lagoon. It is
a pleasant spot for walking, birdwatching or just relaxing.
Adjacent are Caloundra High School, Central Park and the
public swimming pool, while, over the road, is Roy Hazell
Park, with its croquet lawn.
Further north, in Wurtulla, is a 51-ha seaside reserve
with picnic area known as Currimundi Environmental Park,
noted for its wallum heath, tea-trees and its springtime
displays of wildflowers, tel: (07) 5494 3983.
Queensland Air Museum
A major local attraction, the Queensland Air Museum is
located at the Caloundra Aerodrome, at 7 Pathfinder Drive.
It is clearly signposted on the main southern route into the
city. The collection includes 15 complete aircraft from
Australia's aviation past, a number of other craft in
various states of completion, dismantlement and restoration
(some on display and some in storage) and plenty of aviation
memorabilia. Those on display include four de Havillands (a
Vampire, a Dove, a Sea Vixen and a Sea Venom), a Hawker
Hunter, a Douglas DC3, a Gloster Meteor, an Armstrong
Whitworth Meteor, a GAF Canberra Mk 20 and a Nord Mohawk. It
is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Admission, as of
October 1, 2002, was 5 for adults, $3 for children and $4
for each individual who has booked in as part of a group,
tel: (07) 5492 5930, qam@powerup.com.au or www.
Caloundra Regional Art Gallery
The city of Caloundra has its own art gallery displaying
regional works at 22 Omrah Ave. It is open Wednesday to
Sunday from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., tel: (1300) 650 112 or
(07) 5420 8200.
Two private galleries are Hopkins Gallery and Framing at
26 Bulcock St, Caloundra (tel: 07 5492 6877) and Seaview
Artists Gallery at 4 Seaview Terrace, Moffat Beach, tel:
(07) 5491 4788. The caloundra Arts Centre Association is
located at 5 North St and is open daily, tel: (07) 5491
6488.
Propeller
Near the caravan park at Dicky Beach (in fact it's in front
of the toilets) is the propeller from the SS Dicky which ran
aground on Dicky Beach on 1 February 1893 with a crew of 11
and 40 tonnes of sand. Attempts to relaunch it proved
unsuccessful so it was used for local dances until someone
knocked over a kerosene lamp and it was burnt out.
Lighthouse
Previously located on Golden Beach, Caloundra's old
lighthouse has been returned to where it was originally
constructed at the top of Canberra Terrace. It was
established here in 1898, at which time there were only four
other houses in what is now Caloundra.
Corbould Park Racecourse
Races are held regularly at Corbould Park, with the major
event on the calendar being the Spring Racing Carnival in
September/October. The Caloundra City Cup Carnival is held
in July. It is considered a well-built modern centre with
excellent facilities, public access and disabled facilities.
It is located at 170 Pierce Ave, tel: (07) 5491 6788.
Caloundra Road Environmental Park
West of Caloundra, adjacent to the highway, is the long,
narrow 10-ha swamp known as Caloundra Road Environmental
Park which, apart from the superb displays of Christmas
bells and its natural scenic appeal, contains substantial
stands of banksia, boronia and melaleuca.
Walking Tracks
There are two walking tracks west of Caloundra. If visitors
follow Caloundra Rd to the Bruce Highway they can then cross
over the highway and continue west along Glass House
Mountains Rd. Just after crossing the highway the Jowarra
Walking Track is located on the right-hand side of the road.
About 6 km along Glass House Mountains Rd is the Ewen
Maddock Walking Track, associated with Ewen Maddock Dam.
Palmview
Palmview is situated in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
Simply follow Caloundra Rd west to the Bruce Highway, then
it is just a short distance north along the highway. In
Ballantyne Crescent (off Glenview Rd) visitors will find
Skin Thing (tel: 07 5494 5248) and Opals Down Under, tel:
(07) 5494 5400.
Aussie World and Ettamogah Pub
Aussie World is located at 73 Frizzo Rd, Palmview (just off
the highway), and it is open daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00
p.m., tel: (07) 5494 5444. Alongside general entertinments,
such as carnival rides and amusements, a side-show alley,
billy carts and a skirmish battleground, there are displays
of native reptiles (including a particularly large
collection of snakes, with snake handling and snake milking
an optional extra), and traditional rural activities, such
as an historical look at the evolution of sheep-shearing,
stock-whip demonstrations, pony rides, the milking of cows,
the feeding of lambs and a look at wool classing. Markets
are held here each Saturday from 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and
the Ozziefest Music Festival is held in September.
The Aboriginal Cultural Centre offers a talk on
indigenous cultures, demonstrations of traditional culture
and lifestyles, dancing, boomerang and spear throwing,
didgeridoo playing (and lessons), static educational
displays, in-residence artists doing artefact and face
painting and dreamtime storytelling. The Girraween Track
features plants used by indigenous peoples.
Also on site is a recreation of the mythical Ettamogah
Pub which derives from a comic strip by Ken Maynard. The
cartoon series depicted the goings-on at this imaginary
hotel and, in accordance with the cartoon pub, this is an
exact replica, complete with seemingly impossible design -
outward leaning walls and verandahs, a tree that stands in
the middle through two floors, a jalopy on the roof and
signs plastered over everything. Inside is a collection of
Australian artefacts, along with restaurant and bar
facilities, souvenirs, gifts, arts and crafts.
Wild Horse Mountain Lookout
South of Palmview, along the Bruce Highway, is a turnoff on
the left, to Wild Horse Mountain Lookout, which offers fine
views east over Pumicestone Channel to Bribie Island.
Scenic Flights
Scenic flights of the area are available from the Caloundra
Aerodrome on Pathfinder Drive (bookings are advisable), tel:
(07) 5491 1988. Sunshine Coast Skydivers operate a tandem
and student skydive operation from the airport, tel: (0418)
776 775.
Markets and Events
The Caloundra Markets are held every Sunday from 7.00 a.m.
to noon on West Terrace (adjacent the hospital), while the
Caloundra Twilight Time Markets are held Fridays from 5.00
p.m. to 9.00 p.m. at Centrepoint Plaza, in Minchinton St.
The Caloundra MBF Triathlon is held in April, with many
more athletic events throughout the year. The annual
Calooundra Arts and Crafts Festival is held in August at the
Caloundra Indoor Sports Centre, in North St, Golden Beach
and the Caloundra Surf Classic is held at Dicky Beach in
November.
Australian Businesses for sale
Caravan Parks for sale
Motels for sale
Hotels for sale
Broadwalk Business Brokers
Businesses for Sale in Caloundra: Buy or Sell Hotels, Motels, Caravan Parks, Bed & Breakfast,
Pubs, Wine Bars, Restaurants, Cafe, English Tea Rooms, Coffee Shops,
Deli, Catering Business, Pubs, Bars, Sandwich Bars, Pizza Delivery,
Bakeries, Hot Food Take-away, Fish & Chips, Petrol & Service Stations,
Australian Businesses for sale, Car Sales, Motor & Transport, Car/Van
Hires, Newsagents, Dry Cleaners, Salons, General Stores, Retail Stores,
Post Office, Printers, Convenience Stores, Clothes shop, Hair Dressers,
Beauty Salon, Fruit Markets, Butchers, Florist, Card & Gift shop, Sports
shop, Book Shops, Care Agency, Pharmacy, Tool-Hardware & DIY shops, Pet
Shops, Auto Mechanical, Auto Parts & Accessories,
Bakery Businesses for sale , Motel sales, caravan park sales, Hotel
sales, Business sales, Bar for sale, Juice Bar for sale,
Beauty Salon for sale, Bike and Motorcycle Businesses for sale ,
Australian Businesses for sale, Blinds and Shutters Businesses for sale , Boat Business for sale ,
Book Shop , Bread Run, Building and Construction , Butcher Shop,
Café Business for sale, Car Dealerships for sale, Car Rental
Business for sale , Car Yard, Cleaning Business for sale, Computer
Business for sale, Childcare Centre for sale, Confectionary
Business for sale, Convenience Store for sale, Deli Businesses for
sale , Distribution Businesses for sale , Earth Moving Businesses
for sale , Businesses for sale , Engineering Businesses for sale ,
Export/Import Businesses for sale , Fitness Centres for sale,
Florist for sale, Franchise Businesses for sale , Fruit and Veg
Shop for sale, Function Centre for sale, Funeral Parlour for sale,
Furniture Businesses for sale , Garden Equipment Businesses for
sale , General Store s for sale, Gift Shop for sale, Hairdressing
salons for sale , Hardware Businesses for sale , Hire Businesses for
sale , Businesses for sale, Motels for sale, Caravan Parks for sale,
hotels for sale, Ice Cream Businesses for sale , Juice Bar for sale, Laundrette ' s for sale, Lawn Mowing Businesses for sale , Magazine
Businesses for sale , Manufacturing Businesses for sale , Marine
Businesses for sale , Menswear Businesses for sale , Milk Run 's
for sale, Mixed Businesses for sale , Mobile Businesses for sale ,
News agency Businesses for sale , Pawnbroker Businesses for sale ,
Preschool for sale, Pest Control Businesses for sale ,Business for
sale Pet Shop, Plumbing Businesses for sale , Post Office for sale ,
Removalist Businesses for sale, Restaurants for sale, Roadhouses for
sale, Rubbish Removal Businesses for sale , Rural Supplies
Businesses for sale , Sales and Distribution Businesses for sale ,
Security Businesses for sale , Service Station for sale, Shoe Shop
for sale, Supermarkets for sale, Takeaway Businesses for sale ,
Taxi Businesses for sale , Transport Businesses for sale , Vending
Machine Businesses for sale , Wholesale Businesses for sale,
Wrecking Yard for sale in Caloundra.
Qld Towns
Agnes Water Airlie
Beach Allora
Alpha
Anakie
Aramac
Atherton
Ayr
Australina
businesses for sale
Babinda
Bamaga
Barcaldine
Bargara
Beaudesert Bedarra
Island
Beenleigh
Biggenden
Biloela
Birdsville
Blackall
Blackwater
Blair Athol Boonah
Boulia
Brampton
Island Brooweena
Buderim
Bundaberg
Burleigh
Heads Brisbane
Caboolture
Cairns
Caravan
parks for sale
Calliope
Caloundra
Camooweal
Cape
Tribulation
Capella Cardwell
Cecil
Plains Charleville
Charters
Towers Childers
Chillagoe
Chinchilla
Clermont
Cleveland
Clifton
Cloncurry Collinsville
Condamine
Cooktown
Coolangatta
Cooroy
Crows Nest Croydon
Cunnamulla
Daintree
Dalby
Daydream
Island Doomadgee
Double Island
Duaringa Dunk
Island Edmonton
Eidsvold
Emerald
Emu Park Esk
Eulo
Fitzroy Island Fraser
Island
Gatton Gayndah
Georgetown
Gin Gin
Gladstone Glass
House Mountains Goondiwindi
Gordonvale
Grandchester Great
Keppel Island Green
Island Greenmount
Gympie
Hamilton
Island Hayman
Island Herberton
Heron
Island Hervey
Bay Hinchinbrook
Island
Home Hill Hotels
for sale Howard
Hughenden
Ilfracombe Ingham
Inglewood
Injune
Innisfail
Ipswich
Irvinebank
Isisford
Jandowae
Jericho
Jimbour Jondaryan
Julia Creek Kajabbi
Karumba
Kenilworth Kidston
Kilcoy
Kilkivan
Killarney
Kingaroy
Kuranda
Lady
Elliot Island Laidley
Landsborough
Laura
Leyburn
Lindeman
Island Lizard
Island Logan
City Long
Island
Longreach Mackay
Magnetic
Island Malanda
Maleny
Marburg Mareeba
Marlborough
Maroochydore
Mary
Kathleen Maryborough
McKinlay
Miles
Millaa
Millaa
Millmerran
Mirani Mission
Beach Mitchell
Monto
Moonie
Moranbah
Moreton
Island Mossman
motels
for sale Mount
Garnet Mount
Isa Mount
Molloy Mount
Morgan Mount
Perry Mount
Surprise Moura
Mourilyan Mundubbera
Murgon
Muttaburra Nambour
Nanango Nerang
Noosa Normanton
Oakey
Orpheus Island Palmer
River Pittsworth
Port Douglas
Proserpine Proston
Quilpie
Rainbow
Beach
Ravenshoe
Ravenswood Redcliffe
Richmond Rockhampton
Roma
Rosewood
Sarina
Seventeen
Seventy Shute
Harbour South
Long Island
South Molle Island
Southport
Springsure St
George St
Lawrence Stanthorpe
Stradbroke
Island Surat
Surfers
Paradise Tambo
Tamborine
Mountain Taroom
Texas
Thargomindah
Theodore
Thursday Island Tin
Can Bay Tinaroo
Toowoomba Townsville
Tully
Undara
Wallangarra
Wandoan
Warwick
Weipa
Whitsunday
Winton Wondai
Yandina
Yeppoon Yuleba
Yungaburra
