Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Tewantin QLD

Tewantin

Postcode: 4565

Tewantin is part of the Noosa district and was the original settlement of Noosa. The name Tewantin is the europeanised version of the Aboriginal name for the area, dauwadhum, meaning place of dead logs. Tewantin was originally a timber town. In 1869, Tewantin was the river port for the Noosa area. In 1871 Clarendon Stuart surveyed a town site for the Tewantin settlement. Tewantin was a thriving small town with a reliance on the gold, fishing and timber industries.

Its main street, Poinciana Ave, leads to the Tewantin RSL, which holds a strong legacy towards the Australia’s history in war. With an ANZAC Memorial, Poinciana Ave has a well destinguished pub, the royal mail.An innovative streetscape has made Poinciana Avenue a pedestrian friendly area with a range of shops, restaurants and town square.

Tewantin, among other things, is home to the primary school Tewantin State School.

Tewantin is the location for Noosa Council. The Noosa ferry goes to Noosa Harbour from where you can walk to Tewantin.

While the Sunshine Coast population explosion might have bridged the gap which once divided it from the resort capital of Noosa Heads, Tewantin still manages to retain its individuality.

Tewantin began as a frontier port where ships called to load the logs floated down the Noosa River from the rich cedar timber stands round the shores of Lake Cootharaba, the largest lake in the Noosa River system, a few kilometres to the north. Fittingly, it took its name from the Aboriginal word for place of dead logs.