Mapleton is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Mapleton had a population of 1,564 people. It includes one of Queensland’s largest Outdoor Education Centres, the Lilyponds, the Mapleton Tavern and historic Seaview House, and is well known for its 180 degree panoramic views of the Sunshine Coast.
Geography
The town is located high on the Blackall Range in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, 10 minutes drive from Nambour, 25 minutes from Maleny and 30 minutes from Maroochydore.
History
Early settlers of the area grew fruit, vegetables and ceral crops. The first timber cutters extracted red cedar and beech timber taking it to Nambour. Initially the settlement was known as Luton Vale until 1899 when the name was changed after the English town. Mapleton Provisional School opened on 17 July 1899. It became Mapleton State School on 1 January 1909. In 1906 the road from the Mary Valley to Mapleton was complete. By 1909 a sawmill was operating in the town. It closed in 1972. From 1915 through until 1944, Mapleton was served by a gauge Mapleton Tramway which ran nearly from Nambour. It was worked by two shay locomotives. Pineapples, dairying and small crops were the towns major industries until the late 1950s. The scenic beauty of the area has allowed tourism to dominate in the decades since.
Mapleton has many community services, associations and clubs including the Mapleton & District Community Associations, a bowls club and community gym, the Mapleton Community Library which is run by volunteer staff, a tourist information and arts centre, a choir, tennis club, kindergarten and rural fire service and post office. There is also a medical centre which provides primary health care for the community. The Mapleton Tennis Club at 31 Obi Obi Road has two outdoor courts available to club members and the general public.
Education
Mapleton State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at Flaxton Drive. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 218 students with 21 teachers and 14 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program. The school grounds are large and include Baxters Creek and a new covered multi-purpose area, administration offices and resource centre which opened in December 2009. The school is home to the Mapleton Observatory which is open to the public.
Visitors and facilities
The Blackall Range Tourist Drive gives visitors access to shops on Obi Obi Road and Post Office Road in Mapleton. These shops include a fish and chip shop, cafe and delicatessen, bakery, two coffee shops, a tavern with bottle shop, a gallery, art & gift shop, leadlight workshop, and a pizza and pasta restaurant. There is a Community Information Centre in Obi Obi Road. Next door, in the Old School House, is a secondhand clothing shop that raises money for the Sunshine Coast Community Hospice. Mapleton has a hardware, supermarket, service station, pharmacy, three real estate agents, and a number of massage services, alternative therapists, physiotherapist and hairdressers. The largest attraction of visitors to the town is the Queensland Conference and Camping Outdoor Education Centre which was built in 1983. The facility hosts 30,000 guests annually, most of them school children The 55-acre property has more than twenty activity options and employs eighty local people.
Forests and parks
protects rainforest remnants with bunya pines, piccabeen palm groves, tall open blackbutt forests and picturesque mountain scenery. Picnic tables, toilets and barbecues are provided. The Park marks the point just west of Mapleton where Pencil Creek cascades 120 metres over an escarpment. This small, day-use-only park, shelters many bird species, including the peregrine falcon, eastern whipbird and wompoo fruit-dove. From the carpark there is a short walk to Mapleton Falls lookout with wheelchair access to toilet and lookout. The panoramic view takes in the waterfall and Obi Obi Valley. From the open, grassy picnic area, the Wompoo circuit winds through eucalypts and rainfores where visitors may hear the fruit-dove’s booming calls, wallock-a-woo and book-a-roo. Near the causeway pool frogs may be heard and distinctive hexagonal volcanic rocks seen. The Lilyponds area was for many years a swamp and underwent an $800,000 makeover to turn it into a community park. There are free BBQ's, children's play park and covered seating areas. Delicia Road Conservation Park is a small park protecting remnant forest communities. It is a refuge for wildlife and a place where visitors can enjoy the native forest. The land was donated by Linda Garrett and so locals refer to it as Linda Garrett Park. There is a walk called the Linda Garrett circuit which passes through rainforest, a palm grove and tall, wet, eucalypt forest. The great barred frog may be seen along Gheerulla Creek and birdwatchers may hear the melodic, drumming call of the endangered marbled frogmouth.
Accommodation
Mapleton is home to two caravan parks, several self-catering units, bed and breakfasts and some romantic and luxurious accommodation. Queensland Conference and Camping Centres Mapleton currently offers three hundred beds.
