Mooloolah Valley is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

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 , Mooloolah Valley had a population of 3,629 people. Mooloolah is a town () within the locality.

Geography

Mooloolah Valley is in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, north of Landsborough on the main

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

from Brisbane with regular services southbound to Brisbane and northbound to

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 12,145 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital ...

and

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

from Mooloolah railway station (). The

Mooloolah River The Mooloolah River is a river in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and flows east-northeast, similar to the Maroochy River to the north. The mouth of the river is at southern Mooloo ...

forms part of the eastern boundary.

History

The name ''Mooloolah'' comes from the

Kabi language Gubbi Gubbi, also spelt Kabi Kabi, is a language of Queensland in Australia, formerly spoken by the Kabi Kabi people of South-east Queensland. The main dialect, Gubbi Gubbi, is extinct, but there are still 24 people with knowledge of the Butc ...

meaning either ''place of black snakes'' or ''place of snapper''. In early 1861 the tender of Edmund Lander was accepted, by the Commissioner for

Crown Lands Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

, for the

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

run of Mooloolah Plains in the Wide Bay and Burnett District. A year later the lease was transferred to John Westaway. Lander went on to select in 1869 on the main coach road between

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 ...

and

at the Mooloolah Bridge. On this property the Mooloolah Post Office was established in 1872. The town of Mooloolah was surveyed in 1884 by J.E. Palisser. The locality was originally called Mooloolah but this was changed to Mooloolah Valley on 2 June 1995. Mooloolah Provisional School opened on 6 February 1894 with an initial enrolment of 28 students under head teacher Agnes May Black. On 1 January 1909, it became Mooloolah State School. St Thomas' Anglican Church was dedicated on 22 April 1927 by Archdeacon Glover. Glasshouse Country Uniting Church opened its church at Beerwah on 16 December 2000. It was a result of the merger of the Glasshouse Uniting Church, Beerwah Uniting Church, Landsborough Uniting Church and Mooloolah Uniting Church.

Demographics

In the , Mooloolah Valley had a population of 3,321 people. In the , Mooloolah Valley had a population of 3,629 people.

Heritage listings

Mooloolah has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: * south of Mooloolah township: Dularcha Railway Tunnel * Maddock Park, Mooloolah Connection Road: Ewen Maddock House Site

Education

Mooloolah State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at King Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 191 students with 16 teachers (14 full-time equivalent) and 12 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Mooloolah Valley. The nearest government secondary schools are Maleny State High School in

Maleny Maleny (pronounced ''muh-LAY-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. Maleny was a timber town until the early 1920s and then was a centre of dairy production ...

to the west, Beerwah State High School in Beerwah to the south, Chancellor State College in Sippy Downs to the north-east, and Nambour State College in

to the north. Palmview State Secondary College in Palmview to the north-east is another option, but, having opened in 2023, will not offer all years of secondary schooling until 2027.

Amenities

Mooloolah Valley Community Association is a not-for-profit organisation based at Mooloolah Community Centre, raising money, providing services and events to the local community including: * Op Shop * 4 Seasons Markets * Community Assistance Program – providing practical help for residents who find themselves in difficult circumstances * a program of community events (e.g. Emergency Services Day, Community BBQ, Christmas celebrations). * a Men's Shed is in the development stage. Mooloolah Public Hall was officially opened in 1905 and provides a space for community events (e.g. concerts, markets, exercise classes, clubs). 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

mobile library A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

service which visits Bray Road. St Thomas' Anglican Church is at 31 Bray Road (). Weekly services are held on Wednesday.

References

External links

* *
The Mooloolah Community Centre
is the home and work hub of Mooloolah Valley Community Association Inc. {{Sunshine Coast Region Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region Localities in Queensland