With a decidedly carnival atmosphere prevailing inside and out on a hot afternoon in Tewantin’s village centre last Saturday, former Noosa Mayor Bob Abbot delivered a warmly-received keynote address at the Royal Mail Heritage Luncheon celebrating the town’s 150th birthday.
Bob reminded the packed house of Tewantin pioneers and “first fleeters” that their river town had joined the communities together, even when the shire’s economy and much of its population was centred on the rural hinterland.
“It wasn’t the beach, it was the river that was important to the people who came here in the early days. It gave them access to abundant seafood, to farmlands and the other communities, upriver to Boreen Point, downriver to the Heads.
“At the time Cooroy, Pomona, Cooran and Kin Kin were all growing and becoming important. By the turn of the century there were four dairy co-op butter factories in the shire, and a few years later the banana crop was being freighted out of the shire’s railway stations several times a week. During this time a lot of families came down from Gympie and resettled in Tewantin and the relationship between those towns remains strong.”
The former mayor, who became a Noosa councillor just a couple of years after the shire chambers were moved from Pomona to Tewantin, reflected that the old school rural councillors had not been happy to see the shire controlled from “that end”, which was their term of derision for Tewantin and the coast.
“They saw a different destiny for Noosa, built around the farming businesses of the hinterland. But that’s not the way it went. Too many people were moving to Tewantin because they could see that it was a peaceful, restful place to live and that it would prosper.
“And when you look at the town today, you can see that it hasn’t suffered the ravages of tourism that you see elsewhere. It’s still a great place to live.”
Mr Abbot was supported at the lunch by bush poet and yarn spinner Ian Mackay, while local author Phil Jarratt read from his book, Place of Shadows, about Tewantin’s robust early years and Cr Tom Wegener did a flawless job as master of ceremonies.
Tewantin’s big day drew a large crowd, with families enjoying the many stalls, buskers, the vintage car display and rides on a beautifully restored Cobb & Co coach.
