The Sunshine Coast (population 290,645 with up to an additional 50,000 in visitors and seasonal workers) is a coastal region located in South East Queensland, north of the Queensland capital of Brisbane. The Sunshine Coast has recently been united into a single Local Government Area, the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. The Sunshine Coast is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east, and extends to the local government boundaries beyond the Blackall Range to the west. Occasionally, the towns of Gympie, which is 30 minutes' drive north of Noosa Heads, and Caboolture, 30 mins drive south of Caloundra, have been included in a broader definition of the Sunshine Coast region
Since the Glass House Mountains were first sighted by James Cook from the deck of HM Bark Endeavour in 1770, the Sunshine Coast's history has been as diverse and colourful as its scenery.
The Sunshine Coast's first white inhabitants were three castaways who shared the life of the Aborigines for 8 months; it became the home of numerous runaway convicts who preferred life among the Aborigines to the living hell of the Moreton Bay Convict Establishment; it was the scene of some of the most bitter skirmishes of Australia's 'Black War'.
Timbergetters used its rivers and lakes as seaways to float out their great logs of cedar, gold diggers scaled its mountains to reach the Gympie gold. With the coming of the railway line to Gympie, the coastal towns, founded as ports for its early river trade, were bypassed, and grew slowly into quiet holiday resorts whose peace remained undisturbed until the development boom of the 1960s and 1970s - just 200 years after Cook had passed that way.
Localities and suburbs within the Sunshine Coast region include Maroochy Shire suburbs such as Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland, Maroochydore, Buderim and Nambour. The Sunshine Coast also produces many varieties of tropical fruit and nuts and, until recently, sugar cane.
The region is characterized by beautiful beaches, expansive coastal views and rich fertile soils in the hinterland. Many World and Australian-renowned beaches are located at Noosa Heads, Alexandra Headlands, Mooloolaba, Coolum and Kings Beach in Caloundra. There are popular surfing areas along the beaches and headlands.
