Sippy Downs

Origin of name

Derived from Aboriginal word "dhippi" or "jippi" meaning "birds".

Early history of settlement

Sippy Creek drains the Ilkley Ridges and an area of Mooloolah Plains and flows through Sippy Lake into the Mooloolah River about 12km from the mouth of the river.

Sippy Downs, the site of the present-day University of the Sunshine Coast and Chancellor Park Estate, was part of the Moolooloo Plains pastoral run leased by John Westaway & Sons in the 1860s. The run extended from the Maroochy River to the Mooloolah River and was bordered by a coastal strip on the east.

In 1870, all runs ceased and land became available for selection or lease. The Sippy Downs site was not taken up for lease. It was noted as an open plain of wallum country, treeless, swampy plain, sandy soil with numerous holes. It was considered unsuitable for agricultural or grazing purposes and designated a "Remnant Block".

This block was surveyed in 1938, and occupied as a perpetual lease selection until 1957, when the lease was forfeited. It was incorporated with other blocks to make it more viable and in 1964 Alfred Grant Cattle Corporation was granted a special lease on the land for cattle fattening and breeding. This company went into liquidation in 1979 and in 1987 the Queensland Industrial Development Corporation became the owner and acted as the Bank for the Crown.

In 1993, Sippy Downs was rezoned allowing the creation of the University of the Sunshine Coast, which was opened in 1996, and Chancellor Park Estate.