Coolum's evolution through the early part of the 20th century

Coolum is now established as a popular seaside resort town on the southern Sunshine Coast in Queensland but it does not have a long history. It now has a population of 18,000 and is still growing, being 135 km north of Brisbane and 15km south of Noosa, it's local demographic commutes to Maroochydore,Mooloolaba and Noosa for work as well as working in the growing local business community. This a place where there are lively cafes and restaurants but it is well known for its world-class golf course at the Hyatt, which hosts the Australian PGA Championship. Coolum has always had a reputation for big waves on their surf beaches.

The name is said to have come from the Aboriginal word "gulum" or "kulum" which means "blunt" or "headless". It refers to the unusual form of mount coolum. According to legend, Ninderry knocked off Coolum's head, and it fell into the ocean. Today, the island of Mudjimba is said to be that head that fell off. Mount Coolum is a volcanic plug, it measures 681 feet high, it rises from the coastal plain and a part of its base projects into the ocean which is called Point Arkwright. Historically a clan known as the Inabara claimed ownership of Coolum. The Inabara were a subsection of an Aboriginal tribe called the Undabi. The Kabi Kabi is a larger tribe that the Undanbi belonged to. As the europeans started to live in the area the tribes started to dissipate.

1823 saw a substantial European shipwreck, off what we now know as the Sunshine Coast, the castaways came through Coolum. The first person to record a visit to the area was in  1871, a gentleman who ran 300 head of cattle there. Soon after an englishman took 252 hectares of land, his name was Mark Blasdall, he planted sugarcane and started to create a timber business. Blasdall also built 2 huts and a sawmill, clearing the Coolum Creek, which made it possible for steamships to pass to deliver supplies and load timber.

William Perry was the initial permanent resident of Coolum in 1905. His house, named Green hills, was built where Key West Avenue meets Beach Road. Soon  a steady flow of people began settling permanently in the region.  The mailboat service was established on the Maroochy River in 1909. The connection between Yandina and Coolum became established through this, though locally the establishment of the North coast railway in 1891 to Yandina had taken away a lot of steamboat transportation

Road access was still a problem but a road to Coolum was undertaken in 1922-1925 and it opened access for vehicles from Yandina. Later on, a large amount of expansion of sugarcane began in Coolum and many new farms were taken up.

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