Of all the towns or regions in Australia, Noosa should be ranked among the top due to its impressive rise from a simple hamlet to a major destination. But the journey has been long and tedious requiring the local community to work extra hard to acheive the region’s present status.
The region was originally home to a number of Aboriginal groupings. Two of these groups were the Undumbi and the Gabbi Gabbi who resided to the south and west of the area respectively. Some of the traditions and cultures of these ancient people have been lost along the way but some small reminders still remain to this day. There are remnants of canoe trees whose barks were removed to make canoes. There are stone carvings all over the region to show that these people did live here. The name Noosa actually came from an Aboriginal word that meant shady place or shadow.
The growth of the Noosa as a great holiday destination began long before the Europeans settlement. There were many tribes then inhabiting the area for tens of thousands of years. One of those tribes was the Kabi who originated from areas near Brisbane. This tribe was successful in every sense of the word because this land was rich in pastures and other abundances. These are the people who are known to have started the Bunya festival which celebrated the Bunya Nut’s harvest. Some rank this festival as the oldest of those known to man.
The European settlers came into the picture in the 1800s and two things are responsible for their settling: logging and gold mining. Noosa River acted as the preferred conduit to ferry the logs downstream to Tewantin where they were loaded onto big ocean vessels. This started happening in 1871 after the government developed a port in this township. With a population of only 2,000people then, a Local Council Authorities Act created Noosa in 1910 with the pioneering elections taking place in April the same year. The location of the present Noosa Museum acted as the first headquarters of the area.
The population of Noosa has risen considerably from five thousand in 1933, ten thousand in 1976 to fifty one thousand people in 2006. The many industries that continue to be set up have played a major role in converting this region into a super-power as far as tourism is concerned. An agreement was effected to see that no high rise buildings are built in the area so as to conserve the beauty of Noosa. National parks, forests and conservation areas take up 34.8 percent of the total area.
From a small fishing village that this area was, it has made a great stride. The business environment is also vibrant with major banks and other institutions having set root here. But the one area that has sort of single-handedly breathed life into Noosa is tourism.
For those of you who are planning to head on over to lovely Noosa for a holiday, the Emerald Noosa is an ideal place to stay if you are hoping to get the best rates and the most comfortable accommodation.
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