Mapleton, Queensland

Mapleton
Queensland
Mapleton; Queensland
	St Isidore's, heritage-listed homestead, 1998
	Mapleton
Coordinates	26°37′29″S 152°52′00″E / 26.6247°S 152.8666°E
Population	1,661 (2021 census)
• Density	128.8/km2 (333.5/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4560
Area	12.9 km2 (5.0 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	11.4 km (7 mi) W of Nambour ; 26.6 km (17 mi) W of Maroochydore ; 43 km (27 mi) NW of Caloundra ; 107 km (66 mi) N of Brisbane ;
LGA(s)	Sunshine Coast Region
State electorate(s)	Nicklin
Federal division(s)	Fairfax
	Localities around Mapleton:

Mapleton is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2]^[3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Mapleton had a population of 1,661 people.^[1]

It includes one of Queensland's largest Outdoor Education Centres (QCCC Mapleton), the Lilyponds, the Mapleton Tavern and historic Seaview House (St Isidore's Farm College), and has panoramic views of the Sunshine Coast.^[4]

Geography

The town is located high on the Blackall Range in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, 10 minutes drive from Nambour, 25 minutes from Maleny and 30 minutes from Maroochydore.^{[citation needed]}

Montville–Mapleton Road enters from the south, Nambour–Mapleton Road enters from the east, and Obi Obi Road exits to the south-west.^[5]

History

For countless generations, the Blackall Range has held spiritual significance for many Aboriginal people throughout South East Queensland. Abundant bunya pines growing throughout this area produced large nut crops, providing enough food for huge gatherings. When the nut crop peaked every three years, Kabi Kabi and neighbouring Wakka Wakka people hosted the Bonyee Festival. Many invited guests travelled great distances from coastal and inland areas to share food, songs and dances, arrange marriages, and other social interactions. A large grassy area near Baroon Pocket was an important gathering place.^[6]

Early settlers of the area grew fruit, vegetables and cereal crops.^[7] The first timber cutters extracted red cedar and beech timber taking it to Nambour.^[7]

Initially the settlement was known as Luton Vale until 1899 when the name was changed after the English town.^[7] The name of Mapleton was decided at a meeting of early settlers in 1894, with one of the group, W.J. Smith, having read about the English town of the same name. A postal receiving office was established at E.H. Biggs' Luton Vale Orchard in 1892. The area was officially named Mapleton, as a postal site, in 1894.^[8]

During the 1890s, the area continued to develop with farm selections being made for various orchards and plantations.^[8]

Mapleton Provisional School opened on 17 July 1899 with an initial enrolment of 15 students under teacher Lizzie Fitzgerald. It became Mapleton State School on 1 January 1909.^[9]^[10]

In 1906, the road from the Mary Valley to Mapleton was complete.^{[citation needed]}

By 1909, a sawmill was operating in the town.^[7] It closed in 1972.^{[citation needed]}

The Mapleton Methodist Church was officially opened on Sunday 11 July 1909 by the Reverend W. Stanley Bath. The church building was 20 by 24 feet (6.1 by 7.3 m) and built from hardwood that was cut at Mr Rosser's mill in Mapleton. The contractor was Mr W. Lanham.^[11] The church was located approximately at 21 Flaxton Drive (26°37′31″S 152°52′00″E / 26.6252°S 152.86680°E / -26.6252; 152.86680 (Mapleton Methodist Church)). The church was still open in 1965,^[12] but, as at 2021, it is no longer operating and the building no longer exists.^[13]

From 1915 through until 1944, Mapleton was served by a 2-foot (610 mm) gauge Mapleton Tramway which ran nearly 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Nambour. It was worked by two shay locomotives.^{[citation needed]}

Pineapples, dairying and small crops were the towns major industries until the late 1950s.^[7]

The scenic beauty of the area has allowed tourism to dominate in the decades since.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics

In the 2016 census, the locality of Mapleton had a population of 1,564 people.^[14]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Mapleton had a population of 1,661 people.^[1]

Heritage listings

Mapleton has a heritage-listed site:

St Isidore's (also known as Seaview House), 40 Post Office Road^[15]

Education

Mapleton State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Flaxton Drive (26°37′33″S 152°51′57″E / 26.6259°S 152.8658°E / -26.6259; 152.8658 (Mapleton State School)).^[16] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 218 students with 21 teachers (14 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).^[17] It includes a special education program.^[16] The school grounds are large and include Baxters Creek and a new covered multi-purpose area, administration offices and resource centre which opened in December 2009.^[10]

There are no secondary schools in Mapleton. The nearest government secondary school is Burnside State High School in Burnside, Nambour, to the east.^[18]

Amenities

The Mapleton Community Library is at 10 Obi Obi Creek Road (26°37′29″S 152°51′56″E / 26.6246°S 152.8655°E / -26.6246; 152.8655 (Mapleton Community Library)). It is operated by volunteers.^[19]

Mapleton Post Office is at 11 Post Office Road (26°37′21″S 152°51′57″E / 26.6226°S 152.8659°E / -26.6226; 152.8659 (Mapleton Post Office)).^[20]

Mapleton has many other community services, associations and clubs including the Mapleton & District Community Associations (MADCA), a bowls club and community gym, a tourist information and arts centre, a choir, tennis club, kindergarten and rural fire service. There is also a medical centre which provides primary health care for the community. The Mapleton Tennis Club at 31 Obi Obi Road has two outdoor courts available to club members and the general public.^{[citation needed]}

Attractions

The Blackall Range Tourist Drive gives visitors access to shops on Obi Obi Road and Post Office Road in Mapleton. These shops include a fish and chip shop, cafe and delicatessen, bakery, two coffee shops, a tavern with bottle shop, a gallery, art & gift shop, leadlight workshop, and a pizza and pasta restaurant.^{[citation needed]}

There is a Community Information Centre in Obi Obi Road. Next door, in the Old School House, is a secondhand clothing shop that raises money for the Sunshine Coast Community Hospice. Mapleton has a hardware, supermarket, service station, pharmacy, three real estate agents, and a number of massage services, alternative therapists, physiotherapist and hairdressers.^{[citation needed]}

The largest attraction of visitors to the town is the Queensland Conference and Camping (QCCC) Outdoor Education Centre which was built in 1983. The facility hosts 30,000 guests annually, most of them school children The 55-acre property has more than twenty activity options and employs eighty local people.^{[citation needed]}

The Mapleton Observatory is at the Mapleton State School. It is operated by volunteers and is open to the public.^[21]

Mapleton Falls National Park (formerly Mapleton Forest Reserve) protects rainforest remnants with bunya pines, piccabeen palm groves, tall open blackbutt forests and picturesque mountain scenery.^[22] Picnic tables, toilets and barbecues are provided.^{[citation needed]}

The Park marks the point just west of Mapleton where Pencil Creek cascades 120 metres (390 ft) over an escarpment. This small, day-use-only park, shelters many bird species, including the peregrine falcon, eastern whipbird and wompoo fruit-dove. From the carpark there is a short walk to Mapleton Falls lookout with wheelchair access to toilet and lookout. The panoramic view takes in the waterfall and Obi Obi Valley. From the open, grassy picnic area, the Wompoo circuit winds through eucalypts and rainforest where visitors may hear the fruit-dove's booming calls, wallock-a-woo and book-a-roo. Near the causeway pool frogs may be heard and distinctive hexagonal volcanic rocks seen.^{[citation needed]}

The Lilyponds area was for many years a swamp and underwent an $800,000 makeover to turn it into a community park. There are free BBQ's, children's play park and covered seating areas.^{[citation needed]}

Delicia Road Conservation Park is a small park protecting remnant forest communities. It is a refuge for wildlife and a place where visitors can enjoy the native forest. The land was donated by Linda Garrett and so locals refer to it as Linda Garrett Park. There is a 2.2-kilometre (1.4 mi) walk called the Linda Garrett circuit which passes through rainforest, a palm grove and tall, wet, eucalypt forest. The great barred frog may be seen along Gheerulla Creek and birdwatchers may hear the melodic, drumming call of the endangered marbled frogmouth.^{[citation needed]}

Accommodation

Mapleton has two caravan parks, several self-catering units, and bed-and-breakfasts accommodation. Queensland Conference and Camping Centres Mapleton currently offers three hundred beds.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mapleton (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Mapleton – town in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 20871)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ "Mapleton – locality in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 48743)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ "Mapleton". Visit Sunshine Coast. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
^ "Mapleton" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
^ "Nature, culture and history: Mapleton Falls National Park". Parks and forests, Department of Environment and Science, Queensland. Queensland Government. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2000). Heritage Trails of the Great South East. State of Queensland. p. 133. ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.
^ ^a ^b "Queensland Places: Mapleton". Blog. State Library of Queensland. 11 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
^ ^a ^b "History". Mapleton State School. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
^ "Opening of the New Methodist Church at Mapleton". Chronicle And North Coast Advertiser. Vol. VII, no. 320. Queensland, Australia. 14 August 1909. p. 2. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Parish of Maroochy Sheet 2" (Map). Queensland Government. 1965. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ "Mapleton Methodist Church (former)" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mapleton (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
^ "St Isidore's (entry 601467)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
^ ^a ^b "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
^ "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
^ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
^ "Mapleton Community Library". Mapleton Community Library. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
^ "Mapleton Post Office". Australia Post. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
^ "Mapleton Observatory". Mapleton State School. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
^ "Mapleton National Park". Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Nature, culture and history: Mapleton Falls National Park (14 November 2019) by Parks and forests, Department of Environment and Science published by the Queensland Government under CC-BY-4.0 licence, accessed on 18 November 2021.