Beerwah () is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associate ...

of the

Sunshine Coast Region The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. It was created by the amalgamation in 2008 of the City of Caloundra and the Shires of Maroochy and Noosa. It con ...

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. At the the locality of Beerwah had a population of 7,734 people.

Australia Zoo Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, w ...

, located here, is a major tourist attraction and is visited daily by large numbers of local, national and international tourists. Beerwah has transport links to Brisbane and northbound destinations via the Beerwah railway station on the Nambour and Gympie North railway line. Roads in the area include a bypass in the south of the town, Kilcoy-Beerwah Road and Steve Irwin Way.

Geography

Beerwah is situated north of

Glass House Mountains The Glass House Mountains are a cluster of thirteen hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The highest hill is Mount Beerwah at 556 metres above sea level, but the most identifiable of ...

, approximately north of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, and just south of Landsborough. The main road through Beerwah is called Steve Irwin Way. It was formerly known as the Glasshouse Mountain Tourist Route and is accessed by the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Nat ...

, which bypassed the town in 1985. Kilcoy–Beerwah Road enters from the west.

History

The name ''Beerwah'' comes from the Kabi language ( Turrbal dialect) word ''birrawaman'', with ''birra'' meaning ''sky'' and ''wandum'' meaning ''climbing up''. Beerwah Post Office opened by August 1907 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

had been open from 1891). The Coochin Creek Provisional School opened in November 1888, becoming Coochin Creek State School on 1 January 1909. In about November 1928, it was renamed Beerwah State School. On 10 July 1952, another Coochin Creek State School opened, but it closed on 11 March 1962. On Saturday 26 September 1914 the local Anglican residents held a meeting to consider erecting a church in Beerwah. Mr Mawhinney donated a piece of land by the railway station. On Saturday 7 November 1914 Archdeacon Henry Le Fanu officially capped the first stump of the new church building. All the materials for the church and the labour were all donated so the church would be free of debt. On Saturday 6 March 1916 Archdeacon Le Fanu returned to officially open and dedicate St James' Anglican Church. In the 1990s diminishing numbers in the congregations led to a decision to close a number of churches in the area. St James' was closed and sold for removal. On 4 July 1991 the Mary MacKillop Catholic Centre was blessed and opened by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Francis Rush.

Beerwah State High School Beerwah State High School (often abbreviated to Beerwah High School, Beerwah High or simply BSHS) is a government-owned secondary school in Beerwah, Queensland, Australia that was established in 1992. Faculties Subject offerings at Beerwah St ...

opened on 1 January 1992. The Beerwah Library opened in 2000. Glasshouse Country Christian College was established on 31 January 2000 by the Glasshouse Country Baptist Church with an initial 16 students. Glasshouse Country Uniting Church opened its church at Beerwah on 16 December 2000, The architects were Thomson Adsett Architects. It was a result of the merger of the Glasshouse Uniting Church, Beerwah Uniting Church, Landsborough Uniting Church and Mooloolah Uniting Church. In the the locality of Beerwah had a population of 6,769 people, 52% female and 48% male. The median age was 39 years, compared to the national median age of 38. Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia ...

people made up 2.8% of the population. 77.2% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

5.1% and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

4.8%. 90.8% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion in Beerwah were No Religion 32.8%,

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

17.2% and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

14.4%.

Heritage listings

Beerwah has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 53 Beerwah Parade: Beerwah Hotel *2719 Old Gympie Road: Site of Coochin Homestead * Roys Road and Mawsons Road (Beerburrum State Forest): Beerburrum Scientific Area No 1 *Roys Road, approximately 1 km east of Mawsons Road intersection: former Beerwah Forest Station and Arboretum *Simpson Street: Beerwah railway station

Transport

Beerwah is a growing hinterland town. Transport links to Brisbane and northbound destinations at Beerwah railway station on the Nambour and Gympie North railway line. A small bypass was constructed south of the town, including an overpass of the railway, a large roundabout at Roberts Road, and traffic signals at Kilcoy-Beerwah Road and Steve Irwin Way. This work opened to traffic in October 2009. As part of that project, however, the original

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

was closed and demolished, causing concern among local residents who claimed it sliced the town in two. In 2010, many residents began to complain about the lack of signage to the town center. The town entrance now features two distinctive large directional signs, one at the Steve Irwin Way entrance, and one at the roundabout after travelling over the railway bridge.

Education

Beerwah State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 2788 Old Gympie Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 367 students with 40 teachers (32 full-time equivalent) and 21 non-teaching staff (15 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. Glasshouse Christian College is a private primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 58 Roberts Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1074 students with 75 teachers (70 full-time equivalent) and 67 non-teaching staff (48 full-time equivalent).

is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at 35 Roberts Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 895 students with 86 teachers (79 full-time equivalent) and 44 non-teaching staff (30 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.

Amenities

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council operates a public library at 25 Peachester Road. There are a range of national supermarkets, specialty shops, and a retirement village. The Beerwah branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 39 Simpson Street. Anglican church services are held at the Mary MacKillop Catholic Centre at 160 Peachester Road (). Glasshouse Country Uniting Church (also known as Beewah Uniting Church) is at 29 Twin Peaks Drive (). There are a number of parks in the locality, including: * Beerwah Sports Ground, Roberts Rd, Beerwah () * Biondi Crescent Park () * CWA Park () * Cabrera Park () * Caralan Way Park () * Caralan Way/Emma Place Park 2 () * Carnarvon Drive Bushland Park * Chantilly Park () * Coochin Creek Riparian Zone on Steve Irwin Way () * Coochin Nature Park * Esplanade () * Emma Place Park () * Foley Road Buffer () * Gowen Park () * Hibiscus Park () * Jubilee Park * Kello Road Environmental Reserve () * Kindy Park () * Lachlan Crescent Busland Reserve () * Lachlan Crescent North Drainage Reserve () * Lachlan Crescent Park () * Lachlan Crescent South Drainage Reserve () * Lindeman Road Natural Amenity Reserve () * Mill Park () * Monarch Place Natural Amenity Reserve () * Monica Smith Park () * Newell Park () * Newells Rd Buffer () * Newton Park () * Old Peachester Road Natural Amenity Reserve () * Otto Northling Road Natural Amenity Reserve () * Otto Nothling Place Drainage Reserve * Otto Nothling Place Park * Park () * Parkside Drive Bushland Park () * Peachester Dr/Parkside Dr Walkway Link () * Pinelands Park () * Reserve () * Roberts Road Park () * Settlement Park () * Shaws Road Drainage Reserve () * Sidney Drive Bushland Reserve () * Sidney Drive Park * Steve Irwin Way Buffer Kello Road Estate * Thompson Road Buffer * Turner Park () * Twin Peaks Park () * Whistler Place Open Space () * Woodgrove Boulevard Drainage Reserve () * Woodgrove Boulevard Park () * Woodgrove Esplanade Walkway 1 () * Woodgrove Esplanade Walkway 2 () * Woodgrove Stage 7 ()

Attractions

is located in Beerwah. The zoo was founded by Bob Irwin and later made famous by his son, Steve Irwin. It is a major tourist attraction and is visited daily by large numbers of local, national and international tourists. Another attraction, the Glass House mountain range, is located nearby. The largest mountain in the range, at 555m, is

Mount Beerwah Mount Beerwah is the highest of the ten volcanic plugs in the Glass House Mountains range, 22 km north of Caboolture in South East Queensland, Australia. It was formed 26 million years ago during the Oligocene Epoch of the Paleogene Per ...

. Access to the Mount Beerwah summit route has been closed since 2008 due to the erosion and destabilization of some walking tracks, leading to a high risk of rock fall. The Big Mower, one of Australia's big things, is located in Beerwah. Beerwah Railway Station, Queensland, June 2012

Beerwah Railway Station, Queensland, June 2012

Notable residents

* Lawrence Daws, painter and printmaker * The Irwin family: Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin,

Bindi Irwin Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998) is an Australian television personality, conservationist, zookeeper and actress. She is the elder of the two children of the late conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin and his conservation ...

, Robert Irwin, environmentalists and operators of Australia Zoo

References

External links

* *
Beerwah cemetery
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region Localities in Queensland