HERITAGE NOOSA
HERITAGE NOOSA
Noosa River Caravan Park
DETAILS
Alternative NameMunna Point Caravan ParkDescription
Noosa River Caravan Park is located between Russell Street and the Noosa River at Noosaville at a site known as Munna Point. In 1884, an 80-acre Reserve for Public Purposes was declared, which incorporated all of Munna Point including the future site of the camping and recreation reserve. The site was originally part of a Reserve for Aboriginal Mission Purposes and one early settler recorded that Munna Point was a camping place for local First Nations people. Camping on the site by European settlers is recorded from around 1929. As motorised transport became dominant and leisure time increased, particularly post-World War II, this site was established as a caravan park to meet the needs of the growing number of caravanning holiday-makers whose destination was the North Coast. Its still-water river-side location, easily accessible by car from the major Tewantin to Noosa Road, and its range of accommodation and amenities, which have evolved over time, demonstrate all the features of a typical caravan park. In 1956, it was established as a reserve for camping and recreation by the excision of a 2.98ha site from the Reserve for Public Purposes, and placed under the trusteeship of the Noosa Shire Council.
During the interwar period, Tewantin was the commercial centre of the district and, in addition to Noosaville, the location of most holiday facilities. Swimming enclosures, jetties and boat hire businesses were located within a short distance of the camping and recreation reserve. Post World War Il, the rise in car ownership and improved roads coincided with a rise in the popularity of caravanning. This early reservation of the Noosa River Caravan Park as a caravan and camping reserve places it an the vanguard of the caravanning period. It also led directly to the development of the tourism industry in the Noosa Shire and the emergence of commercial operations that catered for visitors as their core rather than supplementary business.
The Noosa River Caravan Park is closely associated with the Parkyn family who played a significant role in establishing and developing tourism in the Noosa region. Following the opening of the Doonella and Weyba Bridges in 1929, Jack Parkyn purchased land at Munna Point. He built six holiday homes in Russell Street and a shop. He also began clearing the paperbark forest opposite, which initiated the use of the Reserve for camping. The Parkyn’s shop at Munna Point served campers, supplying home supplies, bait and tackle, and providing boats for recreational hire. The Parkyns later established a jetty, boat hire and bait business north of Doonella bridge in Tewantin. One of these buildings remains at what is now the Noosa Marina.
The Parkyns sold their properties at Munna Point in 1947. Of the original six Parkyn holiday homes at Munna Point, one remains at 13 Russell Street, and is a rare surviving example of the type of holiday cottages that were once common in this area.Address 4, Russell Street, Noosaville
Noosa River Caravan Park is located between Russell Street and the Noosa River at Noosaville at a site known as Munna Point. In 1884, an 80-acre Reserve for Public Purposes was declared, which incorporated all of Munna Point including the future site of the camping and recreation reserve. The site was originally part of a Reserve for Aboriginal Mission Purposes and one early settler recorded that Munna Point was a camping place for local First Nations people. Camping on the site by European settlers is recorded from around 1929. As motorised transport became dominant and leisure time increased, particularly post-World War II, this site was established as a caravan park to meet the needs of the growing number of caravanning holiday-makers whose destination was the North Coast. Its still-water river-side location, easily accessible by car from the major Tewantin to Noosa Road, and its range of accommodation and amenities, which have evolved over time, demonstrate all the features of a typical caravan park. In 1956, it was established as a reserve for camping and recreation by the excision of a 2.98ha site from the Reserve for Public Purposes, and placed under the trusteeship of the Noosa Shire Council.
During the interwar period, Tewantin was the commercial centre of the district and, in addition to Noosaville, the location of most holiday facilities. Swimming enclosures, jetties and boat hire businesses were located within a short distance of the camping and recreation reserve. Post World War Il, the rise in car ownership and improved roads coincided with a rise in the popularity of caravanning. This early reservation of the Noosa River Caravan Park as a caravan and camping reserve places it an the vanguard of the caravanning period. It also led directly to the development of the tourism industry in the Noosa Shire and the emergence of commercial operations that catered for visitors as their core rather than supplementary business.
The Noosa River Caravan Park is closely associated with the Parkyn family who played a significant role in establishing and developing tourism in the Noosa region. Following the opening of the Doonella and Weyba Bridges in 1929, Jack Parkyn purchased land at Munna Point. He built six holiday homes in Russell Street and a shop. He also began clearing the paperbark forest opposite, which initiated the use of the Reserve for camping. The Parkyn’s shop at Munna Point served campers, supplying home supplies, bait and tackle, and providing boats for recreational hire. The Parkyns later established a jetty, boat hire and bait business north of Doonella bridge in Tewantin. One of these buildings remains at what is now the Noosa Marina.
The Parkyns sold their properties at Munna Point in 1947. Of the original six Parkyn holiday homes at Munna Point, one remains at 13 Russell Street, and is a rare surviving example of the type of holiday cottages that were once common in this area.Address 4, Russell Street, Noosaville
Photograph
People & Family
IDENTIFIERS
CONNECTIONS
LocalityNoosavilleFamilyParkyn FamilyHoward ParkynHeritage ListingQueensland StateMenuLocation | NoosavilleTopic | Tourism
Noosa River Caravan Park. Heritage Noosa, accessed 16/03/2025, https://heritage.noosa.qld.gov.au/nodes/view/24465
