Johns Landing

Johns Landing is a 50-hectare site located at Portion 115 along the Noosa River, Cooroibah. The extensive river frontage section of this land was used as a camping ground from the 1950s until 2017/8, when owners Ben and Pat Johns sold the entire parcel of land to Noosa Council as part of a Council program to rejuvenate endemic flora and fauna and to protect the fragile river edge. 

"Originally selected by Walter Hay in 1871 and acquired by Willoughby Smith ten years later, it was held by him until 1914 when Joseph Henry, the eldest of the Johns brothers became the new owner. In 1934 the property passed to Ben Johns father, also named Bennett Winn, a keen apiarist who had carted numerous hives from George Monks' property at Weyba in 1914 and ran a beekeeping business on the family's riverside block." (Bannah, 2021, p.168).

The property attracted visitors from this time, when it held only beehives; and, following the end of the Second World War, the family encouraged people to use the area as a weekender and holiday camping destination. In 1994, it became a Council-approved camping ground. New amenities were built, including showers and laundries, and composting toilets replaced the thunderboxes among the trees. Peak holiday periods attracted 800 people per day. In 2018 Council signed a contract for the purchase of Johns Landing, paving the way for the 49-hectare property to transfer to Council, thereby preserving the property’s significant environmental values for future generations. Now 'Johns Landing Nature Refuge' covers approximately 35 hectares and contains suitable habitat for threatened species.

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Bannah, Sylvia (2021), Boreen Point... not just any small town.