Cottoning on to the pleasures of holidays by the seaside

The beauty of Maroochydore – its leisure-time activities, river, beaches and vegetation – is uppermost in attracting visitors today.

The abundance of black swans on  the river can only be imagined when Andrew Petrie first saw them in the 1840s. He named the river ‘Maroochy’ (muru-kutchi-dha: ‘place of the red-billed swans’) from the language of his  Brisbane companions.

Petrie was able to persuade Governor George Gipps to protect the area between the Maroochy and Pine rivers for the use of Aborigines.

The Bunya Proclamation existed from 1842 until 1860 when the Queensland government allowed in pastoralists and timber getters.

By 1864, Brisbane sawmiller William Pettigrew had established timber depots on the Mooloolah and Maroochy rivers.

His sawmill upstream from Cotton Tree received logs rafted down the Maroochy River from the hinterland from 1891 until 1898, when sawmiller James Campbell took over until 1903.

Both sawmillers, like many of the early settlers, owned steamers which became a common sight on the river, carrying away timber and delivering supplies for the settlers. The river was the highway into the hinterland.

Thirty years passed before the first tourism began at Maroochydore,  through the Salvation Army with Christmas camps in 1896. South Sea Islanders worked in the sugar industry and were given a reward: a Christmas holiday at Maroochydore.

Families from Buderim and the Blackall Range walked to Nambour and joined punts on Petrie Creek, towed by row boats and with the help of the tide.

Tents and all food for the camp were transported as well. Sometimes two days were taken to travel the distance.

Two hundred people reportedly attended that first camp.

By 1909, more than 1000 people were taking part in the camps.

The Salvation Army rented tents to all-comers and ran a shop which sold supplies. Fewer South Sea Islander families were present by that time, with the majority of families from the European settlers of the district.

By the 1920s, many social changes brought an end to the camps.

Thomas O’Connor had purchased the large areas of land owned by William Pettigrew and, by 1908, he had subdivided the land into blocks for sale.

Other development included Coulson’s Boat Service, delivering mail and supplies while transporting produce to the railhead at Yandina by 1909.

The first hotel was opened in 1912.  It was a replica of the Royal George  Hotel in Nambour. Both were built by Franz Nyman.

Day visitors from Brisbane came by train to Nambour and travelled by cane tram along Petrie Creek to ‘Deep Water’ or ‘The Cedar Tree’ where, at different times, Thomas O’Connor, Charles Dean and Percy Evans transported  passengers in their motorboats to a jetty at Cotton Tree.

The Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club, the oldest surf club on the Sunshine Coast, began in 1916.

By 1920, bitumen roads were built.

Boarding houses accommodated holidaymakers. People had begun to live permanently at Maroochydore and new businesses were settling in.

All this, of course, has never stopped.

 Audienne Blyth is a member of the Nambour Historical Museum, open 1-4pm Wednesdays to Fridays, and 10am-3pm on Saturdays.