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 / -26.6247; 152.8666Coordinates: 26°37′29″S 152°52′00″E / 26.6247°S 152.8666°E / -26.6247; 152.8666
Population	1,564 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	121.2/km2 (314.0/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4560
Area	12.9 km2 (5.0 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	113 km (70 mi) from Brisbane
LGA(s)	Sunshine Coast Region
State electorate(s)	Nicklin
Federal division(s)	Fairfax
Suburbs around Mapleton: Gheerulla Gheerulla Kureelpa Obi Obi Mapleton Dulong Obi Obi Flaxton Flaxton

Mapleton is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2][3] In the 2016 census, Mapleton had a population of 1,564 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 is well known for its 180 degree panoramic views of the Sunshine Coast.^{[citation needed]}

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]}

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.^[4]

Early settlers of the area grew fruit, vegetables and cereal crops.^[5] The first timber cutters extracted red cedar and beech timber taking it to Nambour.^[5]

Initially the settlement was known as Luton Vale until 1899 when the name was changed after the English town.^[5] 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.^[6]

During the 1890s the area continued to develop with farm selections being made for various orchards and plantations.^[6]

Mapleton Provisional School opened on 17 July 1899. It became Mapleton State School on 1 January 1909.^[7]

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

By 1909 a sawmill was operating in the town.^[5] 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.^[8] 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,^[9] but, as at 2021, it is no longer operating and the building no longer exists.^[10]

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.^[5]

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

Heritage listings[]

Mapleton has a heritage-listed site:

• 40 Post Office Road: St Isidore's (also known as Seaview House).^[11]

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.^[12]

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)).^[13]

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]}

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)).^[14][15] 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).^[16] It includes a special education program.^[14] 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. The school is home to the Mapleton Observatory which is open to the public.^{[citation needed]}

Visitors and facilities[]

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]}

Forests and parks[]

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.^[17] Picnic tables, toilets and barbecues are provided.^{[citation needed]}

The Park marks the point just west of Mapleton where Pencil Creek cascades 120 metres 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 rainfores 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 is home to two caravan parks, several self-catering units, bed and breakfasts and some romantic and luxurious accommodation. Queensland Conference and Camping Centres Mapleton currently offers three hundred beds.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

• Mapleton Falls National Park
• Nexus (magazine), based in Mapleton.
• List of tramways in Queensland

References[]

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.

This article incorporates text from "Queensland Places: Mapleton". Blog. State Library of Queensland. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2021. Published under CC-BY-4.0 licence ("Using State Library website and blog content").

Further reading[]

• Henley, John R; Dye, Tony, 1928-; Mapleton State School Centenary Committee (1999), Mapleton State School centenary : celebrating 100 years of education at Mapleton, and our district's heritage, Mapleton State School Centenary Committee, ISBN 978-0-646-37381-2{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Knowles, J. W. (John W.) (2004), The Mapleton Tramway : the line of the diminutive shay locomotives, John Knowles, ISBN 978-0-9593651-5-3
• Wareham, Lindsey (1988), Mapleton 100 years : a tribute to our pioneers (1st ed.), Lindsey Wareham, ISBN 978-0-7316-4755-2

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mapleton, Queensland.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mapleton.

• "Mapleton". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
• Town map of Mapleton, 1974