Coolum Beach is a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

side town and coastal

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the

Sunshine Coast Region The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia, from which it takes its name. It was created by the amalgamation in 2008 of the City of Caloundra and the Shires o ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , the suburb of Coolum Beach had a population of 9,152 people.

Geography

Coolum Beach has the following mountains (from north to south): Coolum Beach panorama

Mount Coolum sits in the background of this panorama

* Mount Peregian (Mount Emu) () * Toboggan Hill () * Eurungunder Hill () Coolum Beach has the following coastal features (from north to south): * Peregian Beach (), extending south from Peregian Beach to the north-east * Coolum Beach (), along the mid-coastline of the suburb * Point Perry () However, Mount Coolum (to the south of the suburb) dominates the landscape. The Yandina-Coolum Road enters from the west.

History

The town's name originated from the indigenous term "gulum" or "kulum," meaning "blunt" or "headless," in reference to Mount Coolum's shape. The Coolum district encompasses the traditional land of the 'Inabara' or 'Yinneburra' clan from the Undanbi tribe, which was a subset of the larger group known as Kabi Kabi (or Gubbi Gubbi). Coolum Provisional School opened on 2 April 1917. In 1930, it became Coolum State School. In December 1923, land in the Mt Coolum Beach Estate second section went to auction, following the successful sale of portions in the first section, and one month after the official opening of the

Moreton Central Sugar Mill Cane Tramway Moreton Central Sugar Mill Cane Tramway is a heritage-listed tramway at Mill Street, Currie Street, and Howard Street, in Nambour, Queensland, Nambour, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built . It was added to the Queensland ...

extension to Coolum. All lots were described as having an uninterrupted view of the Pacific Ocean. In 1931, the Coolum Beach branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

were donated a block of land and purchased the adjacent block at 7-9 Coolum Terrace (). In 1965, a former school building was moved onto the block which was replaced with a new building in 1990. In 2013, the CWA decided that the hall was under-utilised and that its increasing property value should be realised to support other projects. The property was sold into private ownership on 21 September 2013 for $660,000. Holy Spirit Anglican Church was dedicated on 14 November 1970. It was consecrated 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 archdi ...

Felix Arnott Felix Raymond Arnott CMG, Th.D., M.A., B.A. (8 March 1911 – 27 July 1988) was an Australian Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane. Early life and education He was born on 8 March 1911 and educated at Ipswich School and Keble College ...

on 5 November 1977. Coolum State High School opened on 29 January 1985. The Coolum Library opened in 1989 with a major refurbishment in 1997. In 2002, Coolum hosted the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a wiktionary:biennial, biennial summit meeting of the List of current heads of state and government, governmental leaders from all Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. ...

, replacing the 2001 meeting that was postponed and moved from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in the wake of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Along with a number of other regional Australian newspapers owned by

NewsCorp The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Formerly inc ...

, the ''Coolum News'' newspaper ceased publication in June 2020.

Demographics

In the , the suburb of Coolum Beach had a population of 8,497 people. In the , the suburb of Coolum Beach had a population of 9,152 people.

Education

Coolum State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at School Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,025 students with 69 teachers (63 full-time equivalent) and 45 non-teaching staff (28 full-time equivalent). It includes a

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

program. Coolum State High School is a government secondary school for boys and girls at Havana Road East (); the school services grades 7 through 12. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,092 students with 88 teachers (84 full-time equivalent) and 34 non-teaching staff (26 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Despite the name, Coolum Beach Christian College is in neighbouring Yandina Creek.

Amenities

The

Sunshine Coast Regional Council The Sunshine Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia, from which it takes its name. It was created by the amalg ...

operates a public library at 6 Park Street. Coolum Beach Uniting Church is at 22-26 Elizabeth Street (corner of Heathfield Road, ). Holy Spirit Anglican Church is 25 Beach Road (corner of Perry Street, ).

Attractions

Coolum Beach is a popular day trip and holiday destination. The town is focused around the beach, which is patrolled by life savers and offers swimming and surfing; in its day, the beach is known as one of the best breaks in Queensland. Parks, a boardwalk, esplanade shops, and the surf lifesaver club surround the beach. Over the last five years Coolum Beach has seen heavy development, with new buildings for retail business and holiday apartments. Lows Lookout is a tourist attraction at the top of Grandview Drive on Toboggan Hill ().

Public transport

KKinetic Sunshine Coast is contracted to Translink, which operates local buses. The nearest railway station is

Yandina Railway Station Yandina may refer to: * Yandina, Queensland, Australia * Yandina, Solomon Islands Yandina is the principal town on Mbanika Island in the Russell Islands, located on the east coast of the island, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands ...

. From the Yanida Railway Station, there are

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both Commuter rail, suburban and Regional rail, interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well ...

trains to

Roma Street railway station Roma Street railway station is a commuter and long-distance passenger train station located in the Brisbane central business district, central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast ...

, as well as a line to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and North Gympie.

Notable people

Notable people who are from or have lived in Coolum include: *

Essena O'Neill Essena O'Neill (born 3 November 1996) is a former internet celebrity from Coolum Beach, Queensland, Australia, who made national and international headlines when quitting social media in 2015. Social media In late October 2015, then eighteen ...

, internet celebrity who left social media * Julian Wilson, professional surfer competing in the

World Surf League The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfing, surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The WSL was originally known as International Professional Surfing ( ...

Men's Tour

References

External links

* *Historical Aerial Images o
Coolum Beach
sourced at AeroStock {{Sunshine Coast Region Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region Beaches of Queensland Towns in Queensland