The name "Buderim" is usually believed to be derived from a local Kabi KabiAboriginal word for the hairpin honeysuckle, (Badderam) Banksia spinulosa var. collina.[3] However, as the environment on the mountain before British occupation was one of dense rainforest not Banksia heath, the name may have come from the Yugambeh word budherahm meaning sacred or spiritual.[4]
In the 2021 census, the town of Buderim had a population of 58,956 people.[1]
Geography
The urban area of Buderim is not strictly bounded, but in the 2021 census, Buderim's urban area includes all or most of the land in the following suburbs:[1]
Historically, until the 2001 census, a section of Buderim within about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of Sunshine Motorway, as well as Mountain Creek, were considered parts of the neighbouring Maroochydore urban centre.
History
Team of bullocks hauling a wagon of logs in Ballinger Crescent, 1927Panoramic views from Buderim to Mooloolaba Beach, 1934
Buderim is an Kabi word meaning honeysuckle or red soil.[3] The name is also said to come from a Yugambeh word Budherahm, meaning sacred or spiritual.[4]
In 1862, Tom Petrie set out from Brisbane with 25 Turrbal and Kabi Kabi men including Billy Dingy and Wanangga to search for cedar in the Maroochy area. They ascended Buderim mountain where they saw forests of fine timber, then had the satisfaction of being the first to cut a cedar tree there.'[5] Buderim was seen as a resource for timbergetters, as huge stands of Beech and Australian Red Cedar grew across the mountain. Some trees were so large they were wasted due to the lack of transport to carry them down to the river for despatch to Brisbane.
Once clear felled, the plateau was used for farming. The rich red volcanic soil found on Buderim made the area particularly suited to growing almost everything, from bananas to small crops. The most notable were ginger, the crop which made Buderim famous and coffee (in the 20th century) .
Coffee was first grown commercially by Gustav Riebe in 1881 who grew the crops among rows of banana suckers on his 300 acres of land. Riebe was a tea merchant, established in Queen Street Brisbane, who was offering a variety of teas for sale at his Oriental Tea Warehouse. Mr Riebe obviously knew about tea and coffee, and even designed his own machinery to prepare the dried beans for market. Another Buderim coffee farming pioneer was E.J. Burnett who in 1899 sent coffee samples to Earl’s Court Exhibition in London winning a gold medal diploma. Previously Mr Burnett had sent coffee to the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London in 1886 and received a certificate of merit and a bronze medal. By 1911, Buderim was the largest coffee growing area in the state.[6]
Buderim Mountain Post Office opened on 1 June 1884 (a receiving office had been open from 1874). It was renamed Buderim by 1897.[7]
In 1887, James Lindsay began to operate the Buderim Library from his home Ryhope. It is unclear when Buderim School of Arts was established but it was operating by 1889.[8][9] In 1924 the old building was removed and a new building was constructed.[10][11] The stump capping ceremony for the new building was held on Saturday 6 September 1924.[12] The new building was officially opened on Friday 14 November 1924 by the Speaker of the Queensland Legislative AssemblyWilliam Bertram and the Buderim Library operated from the new building.[13][14][15] The hall was renovated in 1989 enabling the library to double in size.[16]
Buderim Methodist Church was established in 1907 on the corner of Gloucester Road and King Street. A new church was built in 1963. Following the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became the Buderim Uniting Church.[17] The current church building was built in 1998.[18] On 3 February 2013 the church established a Garden of Remembrance for the interment of cremated ashes.[19]
On 5 May 1917, Reverend C. Tunstall (Vicar of Maroochy) performed the stump capping ceremony for the new Anglican church.[20] St Mark's Anglican Church was dedicated on Saturday 25 July 1917 by BishopHenry Le Fanu.[21] It was rebuilt and re-dedicated in 1988.[22][23]
In the middle of the 20th century, the largest ginger processing facility in the southern hemisphere was built, and operated as the Buderim Ginger Factory until 1980 when operations were moved to a new facility near Yandina. As the value of their produce was eroded, many farmers left the land to find work elsewhere.[citation needed]
The Buderim War Memorial Hall and Library was extended in 1966. The extension provided space for the Buderim branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association which moved into the extended facility.[24]
In 2011, the average value of Buderim real estate was $475,000 and, largely due to its altitude, its proximity to the Sunshine Coast beaches and its pleasant climate, has increased to $595,000,[25] and this has pressured many others out of the rural lifestyle, as housing development increased in and around Buderim Mountain. Thanks to the huge leap in real estate values during the first decade of 2000, steep land was developed that was previously deemed too expensive to engineer for housing. Due to these developments, the remainder of the farming land and much of the secondary growth rainforest on the escarpment has disappeared. Substantial rainforest remnants remain, especially in the protected area known as the Foote Sanctuary which provides well-maintained public walking paths and BBQ facilities. There is also access to the Buderim Falls. The area is home to an abundance of native wildlife, notably king parrots and lorikeets. Brush turkeys are also a common sight, as are families of kangaroos and wallabies.
Boarding house built in the Queenslander style, Buderim Mountain, December 1930
Nowadays, the Mountain is notable for the enormous variety of its architectural styles, which range from the classic 'Queenslander' to ultra-modern one-off designs. Some homes, especially those 'on top' with ocean views, sell for seven-figure sums.[citation needed] One celebrated 'mansion', straddling four blocks, has recently been on the market for 'offers close to $20 million'.[26]
First Class Coach on the new Buderim tramway, ca. 1915
Buderim contains a significant heritage relic of the early days in the form of Pioneer Cottage, restored and cared for by the Buderim Historical Society.[27]
Between 1914 and 1935, a small gauge railway ran from Buderim to Palmwoods, to take produce from Buderim farms to market. The railway was closed down in 1935 when improved roads and truck transport made it economically redundant. A substantial section of the old track has been cleared and now provides a fine scenic walking trail running parallel to Mons Road.[28] The magnificent old Krauss steam locomotive which previously hauled the carriages along this track is currently undergoing restoration and is planned for public display in the centre of Buderim, when sufficient funds are raised.[29]
Along with a number of other regional Australian newspapers owned by NewsCorp, the Buderim Chronicle newspaper ceased publication in June 2020.[30]
Census populations for the Buderim urban centre have been recorded since 1933. Due to a substantial redefinition of Buderim before the 2001 census, the first column records the UC/L population to 1996 and its component parts thereafter; the second records the SLA based on time series data.
^ abSharpe, Margaret C. (Margaret Clare), (compiler, issuing body.) (2013), All Yugambeh-Bundjalung dictionary with Grammar, texts, etc (Revised ed.), Margaret C Sharpe, ISBN978-0-9807077-3-1{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Petrie, C.C. (1904). Tom Petrie's Reminscences of Early Queensland. Brisbane: Watson, Ferguson & Co. p. 191.
^Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
^"Current Events". Moreton Mail. Vol. 4, no. 164. Queensland, Australia. 15 February 1889. p. 6. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Mount Buderim". Moreton Mail. Vol. 4, no. 192. Queensland, Australia. 30 August 1889. p. 7. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BUDERIM". The Brisbane Courier. No. 20, 693. Queensland, Australia. 20 May 1924. p. 9. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"NORTH COAST". The Daily Mail. No. 7019. Queensland, Australia. 26 August 1924. p. 13. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Items About People". Daily Standard. No. 3701. Queensland, Australia. 17 November 1924. p. 10. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MOOLOOLABA". The Brisbane Courier. No. 20, 851. Queensland, Australia. 20 November 1924. p. 16. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ab"Our History". Buderim Library. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
^"COUNTRY TELEGRAMS". The Brisbane Courier. No. 18, 513. Queensland, Australia. 18 May 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
