Currimundi is a coastal suburb of

Caloundra Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia. Geography Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is accessible from Landsborough ...

in the Sunshine Coast Region,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Currimundi had a population of 6,786 people. The area is noted for its diverse environment and is one of Queensland's top five

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

destinations.

Geography

Currimundi is located on the northern boundary of the Caloundra area. Currimundi Lake is a saltwater lake situated beside Currimundi Beach. North of the lake is the Kathleen McArthur Conservation Park. Nicklin Way, the main road between

and

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

, crosses Ahern Bridge over Currimundi Lake. The Ahern Bridge was named after John Ahern, a firefighter who saved many lives and won a bravery award. Currimundi attracts many tourists in the holidays and the beach is patrolled by Surf Life Saving Australia on weekends and school holidays. The shopping centre at Currimundi is called the Currimundi Markets.

History

Prior to the

colonisation of Australia Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

, Currimundi was the traditional home of the

Kabi Kabi The Gubbi Gubbi people also known as Kabi Kabi are an Aboriginal Australian people native to south-eastern Queensland. They are now classified as one of several Murri language groups in Queensland. Naming As is often the case, ethnonyms dis ...

peoples. It was named by

Queensland Governor The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial funct ...

Sir Leslie Wilson, in which he used the local Aboriginal name for the area, Garamandah or Girramundi, meaning "place of flying foxes". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Currimundi Lake and the beach areas to its north were used for defence purposes and artillery practice. In the , Currimundi had a population of 6,786 people.

Education

Currimundi State School (opened 24 January 1977) is a government primary (

Prep PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allo ...

Year 6 Year 6 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the sixth year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between ten and eleven however some chil ...

) school for boys and girls at 17 Buderim Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 579 students with 48 teachers (38 full-time equivalent) and 26 non-teaching staff (17 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. Talara Primary College (opened 22 January 1998) is a government primary (Early Childhood to Year 6) school for boys and girls at Talara Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,132 students with 79 teachers (69 full-time equivalent) and 47 non-teaching staff (31 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. The nearest government secondary schools are Caloundra State High School,

Kawana Waters State College Kawana Waters State College (KWSC) is a Prep to Year Twelve (K–12) college in Kawana Waters between Mooloolaba and Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, approximately 100 km north of Brisbane. The campus is next to Lake ...

and Meridan State College.

Environment and Ecotourism

Currimundi is noted for its natural beauty and is home to the Currimundi Lake (Kathleen McArthur) Conservation Park which is a popular location for bushwalks. The area has a high degree of biodiversity and includes coastal heath, open forest, woodland, low closed forest with rainforest species, sedgeland and casuarina dune plant communities. Currimundi Lake is recognised by the Sunshine Coast Region Council as an important coastal asset for both the community and the local wildlife, and so regular maintenance is undertaken in order to protect waterways and manage erosion. Furthermore two local community groups, Currimundi Catchment Care Group Inc and Friends of Currimundi Lake work in cooperation and with the Sunshine Coast Council to improve the Currimundi Catchment and care for the environment. In 2004 Currimundi won the annual "Queensland's Cleanest Beach" award. In 2023 Currimundi Lake was identified as one of Queensland's top five '

' destinations, having experienced a 325% increase in visitors post the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

In popular culture

The lake features in a children's book, ''The Oobleegooblers of Lake Curramundi'' by Kath Dewhurst, published in 1977, which is based on a local Aboriginal story.;

References

External links

* {{Sunshine Coast Region Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region Caloundra Coastline of Queensland