Buderim

Origin of name

The name Buderim is derived from the Aboriginal word 'badderam' meaning honeysuckle (a type of Banksia), a plant which grew abundantly around the plateau.

Early history of settlement

Tom Petrie made the first official record of Buderim in 1862, when he explored the area to investigate its timber resources.

In the following years, timbergetters arrived and commenced operations on Buderim and the surrounding areas. These included Dan Cogill, Robert Pill and the Chambers brothers. A wealth of beech, cedar, and pine was hauled by bullock wagon from Buderim to Mooloolah Heads (Mooloolaba), where James Low and William Grigor had established a timber depot for William Pettigrew in 1864.

In 1869, Government surveyor William Fryar surveyed Buderim into selections. William Guy selected the first block in 1870, followed by Joseph Dixon and Gustav Reibe. John Fielding, the Burnett brothers, John Caton, James Lindsay and Charles Ballinger were among the pioneer settlers.

As parts of the land were cleared, agricultural interests increased and sugarcane became the main product. In 1876, Dixon and Fielding established the first Mill on Buderim. The Buderim Sugar Co. opened a second mill in 1880.

Transport and market difficulties combined with the impending deadline to repatriate South Sea Island labour by 1902 led Buderim farmers to turn to large-scale fruit production.

Bananas, first planted on Buderim by James Lindsay in 1883, were grown on a large scale throughout the 1880s-1890s. Citrus orchards expanded, Buderim became the original centre of cultivation of ginger in the Maroochy District and by 1911 it had also become Queensland's largest coffee-producing area.

Sugar and other produce was originally carted by wagon to Eudlo Creek wharf or direct to Pettigrew's store at Mooloolah heads, where transport by steamer to Brisbane provided the only communication with metropolitan markets.

As the terminal of the North Coast Railway advanced, produce was taken by horse and dray, first to Landsborough (1890) and then to Woombye from 1891.

The official opening of the tramway between Palmwoods and Buderim in June 1915 proved a major advantage to both farmers and tourism. By the early 1920s, Buderim was widely regarded as a health resort, and guest houses such as 'Birdwood' and 'Ryhope' were opened.

Improved roads, faster motor transport and a decline in farm produce saw the closure of the tramway in 1935.

Many farms were subsequently sold for subdivision. As this land development continued, new industries - including the Ginger Factory established by the Ginger Group Cooperative in 1941 - flourished on Buderim.