Excerpt from Discovering Cooloola – a complete guide & map
by John Sinclair 1978
“The Magic of Cooloola
To the Kabi Tribe of the Noosa-Wide Bay area, the soft sound of the breeze, whispering in the cypress pines of the sand dunes crooned a low mournful wail, which perhaps inspired the aboriginal name 'Cooloola'.
Now the name, Cooloola, applies not only to the cypress pine forests in the lee of the frontal dunes and the lower dunes in the lee of the sandmasses, but applies also to a magic region of towering forests growing in deep sand, and of elevated dune lakes. It applies also to the serpentine Noosa River, meandering through its expansive plains of wildflowers and to the brilliantly coloured sand cliffs, which inspired the Legend of the Rainbow Serpent.
All this enchantment, scenery and majesty, is compressed into a long, triangular sandmass of 20 000 hectares, which lies between Fraser Island and Noosa. The Western Catchment of the Noosa River drains an additional unique remnant of 13 000 hectares. It was this type of country which the aborigines called 'Wallum', naming it after one of the banksias which flourished in that region and which they prized for the sweetness of its honey.
It is a region of contrast – a mosaic of diverse features, startling attractions and almost irresistible appeal. It is a region which has inspired many artists, poets and writers. It is a region of historic drama. It is the product of erosion, cyclones and geological upheavals, It has also been the centre of one of the major political storms to rage in Queensland during the last ten years.”