100% pure Buderim
This is our Buderim, the Village, the Mountain and the Community
Spread across the top of the volcanic plateau and down the escarpment, the famous town on Buderim Mountain has recently celebrated 150 years of community spirit, since settlement in 1862. Buderim is in fact, the oldest established European settlement on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Despite being only 590 feet (180m) above sea level at the highest point and technically under the official height of a mountain, the plateau has been known as Buderim Mountain from the early days. The Public School carries the full title in its name.
Anyone who spends time here will see that Buderim is something special, from the busy CBD of The Buderim Village, to the secret green forest getaways which grace the slopes . . . it is not hard to understand why so many people  fall in love with this place!
There is something different about our town of Buderim, something which affects visitors and makes them want to be residents. Perhaps it is the tree-lined Buderim Village, the splendid views afforded to many blocks of land on the escarpment, maybe the cooler mountain air . . .
Certainly there is a cultural heritage which comes with being the oldest town on the Sunshine Coast . . .  a heritage of community.
Traditionally, Buderim was considered to be just the area across the top of the mountain. Thanks to the brand’s popularity and real estate demands, urban developments have latched onto the name to create Buderim real estate in areas never considered as such in the past. To add to the confusion, the local electoral boundaries were reconfigured and the LGA is also known under the same name, yet it covers an area from the Sunshine Motorway to Rosemount!
What sets this regional centre apart, is a thriving sense of community, driven by the large number of communty-focused groups.
Buderim Mountain community is different to other towns, there is an atmosphere of caring and a desire to be involved – paying back if you will!
This is demonstrated by the remarkable volunteer commitment of the Buderim Lions Club, the heart-felt work of the Crosby family in Team Adem, the focused enthusiasm of the Buderim Palmwoods Historic Tramway Inc., the work of our unique Community Association (BWMCA) and many more.
One thing is for sure, if you join the Buderim community, it will be great if you were involved in a community organisation, because you will set the direction for the future of this community by whatever actions you take.
Buderim’s Unique History
Why call it “Buderim”?
Why call it “Buderim”?There have been a few stories about this over the years but it is now generally accepted as so . . .
The original inhabitant’s used their Gabi Gabi language to call the plateau “Baddaram” (pronounced Ba-Ju-Rum) which literally means “place of the Hairpin Honeysuckle Banksia”.
Despite a couple of derivations such as “Budderum” in the pioneer days, the name was adapted to be Buderim by the early white settlers. The ending of “rim” being preferred to “rum” by the temperance influences of the day.
Buderim, the Coast’s first town!
Buderim was founded in the 1860’s and is the first settlement on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The Mountain has seen many changes from rainforest and home of indigenous people, to timber-getter’s resource, farms of sugarcane, coffee, citrus, bananas and ginger . . . finally to subdivision for urban development.
Discover Buderim’s living history, check out the Buderim Historical Society and the Pioneer Cottage!
Old and New – What is the future for Buderim?
Little remains of the old Buderim as unfettered residential and commercial development consumes any available space.
Click & slide the white line in the split image below to see a comparison.Â
From Forest to Farms to Today!
The before and after shows a comparison of a famous 1920’s aerial photo to recent Google Earth Imagery of the same area. Lindsay Road is the carriageway in the foreground. You can just trace the old rail line from the Burnett/Lindsay intersection in both images.
Over the decades, Buderim has been world-famous for timber, coffee, ginger, community and the gateway to Sunshine Coast lifestyle. The pioneers of Buderim helped open up the Sunshine Coast and founded legends that are still spoken of today.
The Little Buderim Train that built the Sunshine Coast and started the Legend!
The image of the Bullocks in front of the “Terminus” of the Buderim-Palmwoods Tramway is set near where the Buderim Swimming Pool now stands. Buderim Mountain missed out on the northbound rail line, so the pioneers decided to organise one themselves!
The small guage train ran from 1914-35, carrying goods and passengers between Buderim and Palmwoods.
One of the trains was saved fom scrap and lovingly restored by a group of history and rail enthusiasts.
The Historic Krauss locomotive belongs back on the Mountain, as a shared public treasure, the benefits for tourism and education are enormous. Sadly this venture has been met with obstruction and the Krauss has languished, fully restored waiting to return home. Plans are now well underway to display the Krauss in the heart of the Buderim Village. This will validate the awesome work of the BPHTi over the past 2 decades.
Over the past 150+ years, the fertile slopes have served as a timber-getter’s resource and then as farmland where sugarcane, bananas, citrus and even award winning coffee was grown.
As the Buderim Tramway started chugging up the Mountain, so began Buderim’s legendary status as the gateway to the Sunshine Coast, holiday destination for Brisbanites and “Southerners”.
A few of the original homesteads and accommodation manors are still hidden about the place, but most have long gone or converted into private homes.
“Ryhope” was built by pioneering family the Lindsays, the home was reportedly moved to somewhere near Toowoomba, but the the street is named in its honour.
A Taste of BuderimÂ
For many decades, the name Buderim has been synonymous with Ginger.
Australia’s only ginger factory was set right in the heart of the Village, operating a strong and famous business, preparing and exporting ginger products across the globe.
When the Ginger Factory moved away to Yandina, the premises became a very successful market with extraordinary views across the southern slopes. Finally it was sold and a controversial Woolworths shopping hub built in its place, locking away the views forever.
Every picture tells a story of Buderim's place in history, community and colour
So, who are the Buderim website webmasters?
This website is owned and operated by a Buderim family. Our roots go back to the 1980’s, visiting our retired parents who discovered this special place before the internet was a “thing.”
We moved here and chose to be active in our community organisations, including the BWMCA, Community Carols, Chamber of Commerce, Buderim Scouts and Buderim Lions.
This is first Buderim website with a demonstrated commitment to putting real value for Buderim first for over 20 years. Â Our site works for interests of community has been recognised by community groups and rewarded by Google for most Buderim related searches.
You are invited to make the most of our 100% pure Buderim web site, to help gain an understanding of the special nature of our home.
You can support our work on this site and promote your business, before the thousands of visitors each month.
Some time ago, our original Buderim web site content (developed over almost 10 years) was donated in a whole new package to the the BWMCA along with the community domain name buderim.qld.au. This was to help our Buderim community organisation, gain real traction on the web. They have now chosen to go their own way and we wish them well.
We are the first website committed 100% to Buderim and our single ambitious aim is to create a web presence worthy of our town by:
• Enhancing the community-support efforts of the BWMCA
• Providing an agenda-free platform for visitors, tourists and residents to discover more of this place.
• Giving to businesses of Buderim Village and all of Greater Buderim, an opportunity to showcase their goods and services.
• Being a place for Buderimites to communicate socially and discover the goings on.Â