There are a number of possible explanations for Maroochydore. All are based around the black swans which can be seen in the area. Some interpretations explain that the word is an English equivalent of the local Aboriginal word "marutchi" meaning "black swan" or "marutchi dora" meaning "water where the black swan lives". Alternatively the word possibly comes from the Yuggera language, "muru-kutchi" meaning red-bill, the name of the black swan. The Yuggera people lived around Brisbane. The name was given to the area by Andrew Petrie in 1842. Petrie was accompanied by two Yuggera men from whom, presumably, he obtained the name. The name Maroochydore came into general use in 1884.
*Prior to the arrival of Europeans the area along the coast near Maroochydore was home to the Gubi Gubi Aboriginal people.
* The first European in the area was the Irish convict John Graham who, having been sentenced to seven years transportation for stealing hemp, was sent to Moreton Bay. In July 1826, believing he could row to China, Graham escaped from Moreton Bay. He walked into an Aboriginal camp near the present site of Maroochydore and was immediately accepted as the ghost of one woman's dead husband. Graham lived with the Aborigines for six years.
* In 1833 Graham returned to Moreton Bay and gave himself up.
* Timber-getters were in the area by the early 1850s. They cut timber in the hinterland.
* A depot handling timber was established on the river by 1856.
* The explorer Andrew Petrie passed through the area in 1862 and named the Maroochy River.
* A wharf was built at the mouth of the Maroochy River in 1868.
* In 1888 the Salvation Army held a camp at Cotton Tree.
* William Pettigrew opened a sawmill on the Maroochy River in 1891.
* The Pettigrew sawmill closed in 1898.
* The township of Maroochydore came into existence in 1900.
* In 1907 Thomas O'Connor subdivided land near the river mouth and sold allotments.
* The Club Hotel was built in 1911.
* A School of Arts and the local Surf Life Saving Club were both operating by 1916.
* A State Primary School was opened in 1921.
* The Maroochy Post Office opened in 1922.
* During the 1920s the Maroochydore Picture Palace and Jazzland was opened.
* A road from the Bruce Highway was opened in 1928.
* The local golf course was opened in 1956.
* It wasn't until the 1960s that the area developed as a major tourist destination.
* The local population doubled between 1961 and 1971.
* The canals at Maroochy Waters were built in the 1970s and 1980s.
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| Artists Impression of The New CBD with an interesting article in News.Com |
NB:Information copied directly from the Aussie Towns site which contains other amazing links for exploration!
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