Traditional Custodians
Sunshine Coast Council acknowledges the Sunshine Coast Country, home of the Kabi Kabi and the Jinibara peoples, the Traditional Custodians, whose lands and waters we all now share.
We recognise that these have always been places of cultural, spiritual, social and economic significance. The Traditional Custodians’ unique values, and ancient and enduring cultures, deepen and enrich the life of our community.
We commit to working in partnership with the Traditional Custodians and the broader First Nations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) communities to support self-determination through economic and community development.
Truth telling is a significant part of our journey. We are committed to better understanding the collective histories of the Sunshine Coast and the experiences of First Nations peoples. Legacy issues resulting from colonisation are still experienced by Traditional Custodians and First Nations people.
We recognise our shared history and will continue to work in partnership to provide a foundation for building a shared future with the Kabi Kabi and the Jinibara peoples.
Read more in the Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, found online at sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
Place of the Black Swan
The first inhabitants of the Maroochy district of the region were the Aboriginal people of the Kabi Kabi peoples, whose lands stretched from Burrum River in the north, to Pine River in the south and west to the Conondale Ranges.
For over 20,000 years, the Kabi Kabi people lived in the surrounding ranges, fished the rivers and gathered seafood from the ocean.
Mooroo-kutchi *meaning red-bill, the name of the black swan Moorookutchi-dha *meaning the place of the black swan
Maroochy and Maroochydore are place names derived from the Yaggera (Brisbane River) language group.
The names were recorded by Andrew Petrie, during a trip to the coast in 1842.
Petrie obtained the names from two Brisbane River First Nations men who were travelling with him. The local name for the swan is Kuluin. The name Maroochydore came into general use in 1884.
* Place names as told by Lyndon Davis, Kabi Kabi First Nation