Noosa History

Noosa's reputation as a tourist destination began long before white man settled in the region. For almost 40,000 years the Kabi tribe were part of a nation of aborigines who inhabited the area from Redcliffe near Brisbane, all the way north to the Noosa River and west to Cooroy, Nambour and the Hinterland. During this time Noosa played host to more than just its resident tribe, aborigines from all over Queensland and as far as northern NSW would come to visit and celebrate the natural abundance of the region.

They were a successful tribe that enjoyed the pleasures and natural abundance of the area and were rich, by nature's standards. The Bunya Festival attracted tribes from all over Queensland and as far afield as Western Queensland and even northern New South Wales. Said to be the oldest festival known to man, the Bunya Festival was a famous festival that celebrated the harvest of the Bunya nut and was celebrated in the nearby Blackall Ranges.

Logging and gold is what first attracted white man to Noosa in the early 1800s. The Noosa River was used to raft logs downstream from Lake Cootharaba to Tewantin where they would wait to be loaded onto ships.

By the late 1800s, Tewantin was used as the gateway to the nearby Gympie goldfields and it was around this time that the residents of the Tewantin township began to use the local fishing estuaries and beaches.

Of course since then, Noosa has changed quite considerably and has grown from a small fishing hamlet into the well-developed world-class holiday destination that it is now.