Additional InformationA cruising restaurant, Laguna Belle, began sailing the Noosa River in 1976. The double-decker boat was designed to look like a paddle steamer. It had a rear paddlewheel but this did not provide any propulsion. Her original owners, the Coopers, held a competition to name the vessel. Mrs H. Osgood won the prize of $25 (a bit over $150 today) for creating ‘Laguna Belle’ and she donated her winnings to the Noosa Coast Guard.
Despite its shallow draught, its owner and skipper, Fred Cooper, was affectionately nicknamed ‘Captain Sandbank’ by his patrons as he had a tendency to run aground. Cooper blamed the many mishaps on the silting-up of the river. His wife, Gwen, was hostess.
When not sailing, Laguna Belle was moored at Neptune's Wharf on Gympie Terrace, opposite the corner of James Street, alongside a fish and chip shop that was part of the same business. The wharf was located opposite the corner of Gympie Terrace and James Street but has since been demolished.
The Coopers sold the business to Bill Mayne in 1982 but it was not the success it had been previously. Laguna Belle was later moved to Mooloolaba (after several attempts to get out of the Noosa River mouth). But the business did poorly there and the ship was also damaged by fire. She returned to Noosaville as a floating restaurant but no longer cruised the river while its customers dined (having once again running aground coming back over the Noosa bar). She changed hands several times before being decommissioned in 1994, towed up river and left to rot before being cut up and sold for scrap as part of Clean Up Australia Day in 2002.
