Caloundra

About Caloundra

Caloundra is a coastal suburb and the central business district of the town of Caloundra in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia, situated approximately 72 kilometres north of Brisbane. The name derives from the Gubbi Gubbi language, from "kal'owen" meaning beech tree and "dha" meaning place, referencing the white beech trees once abundant in the area. The suburb fronts the Coral Sea and overlooks the Pumicestone Passage, with Bribie Island lying close to the south. Notable features include Bulcock Beach, named after early settler Robert Bulcock who built the area's first house in 1878, the heritage-listed Caloundra Lighthouse erected in 1896 on Caloundra Head, and the historic shipwreck of the SS Dicky, which ran aground in 1893 at what is now Dicky Beach.