Beerwah, Queensland

Australia Zoo, located in Beerwah, is a major tourist attraction and is visited daily by large numbers of local, national and international tourists. Beerwah has transport links to Brisbane and northbound destinations via the Beerwah railway station on the Nambour and Gympie North railway line. Roads in the area include a bypass in the south of the town, Kilcoy Beerwah Road and Steve Irwin Way.

Beerwah is situated north of Glass House Mountains, approximately north of Brisbane, and just south of Landsborough. The main road through Beerwah is called Steve Irwin Way. It was formerly known as the Glasshouse Mountain Tourist Route and is accessed by the Bruce Highway, which bypassed the town in 1985. Kilcoy–Beerwah Road enters from the west.

The name Beerwah comes from the Kabi language (Turrbal dialect) word birrawaman, with birra meaning sky and wandum meaning climbing up. The Coochin Creek Provisional School opened on 27 November 1888 with an initial enrolment of 19 students under teacher William Verrants. By the end of 1888, there were 43 students enrolled. It was on the main Peachester road, 1.5 mile (2 km) from the Beerwah railway station. On 1 January 1909, it became Coochin Creek State School. In about November 1928, it was renamed Beerwah State School. The school celebrated its golden jubilee in 1938. On 10 July 1952, another Coochin Creek State School opened, but it closed on 11 March 1962. On Saturday 26 September 1914, the local Anglican residents held a meeting to consider erecting a church in Beerwah. Mr Mawhinney donated a piece of land by the railway station. On Saturday 7 November 1914 Archdeacon Henry Le Fanu officially capped the first stump of the new church building. All the materials for the church and the labour were all donated so the church would be free of debt. On Saturday 6 March 1916, Archdeacon Le Fanu returned to officially open and dedicate St James' Anglican Church. In the 1990s, diminishing numbers in the congregations led to a decision to close a number of churches in the area. St James' was closed and sold for removal. On 4 July 1991, the Mary MacKillop Catholic Centre was blessed and opened by Archbishop Francis Rush. Beerwah State High School opened on 1 January 1992. Glasshouse Country Christian College was established on 31 January 2000 by the Glasshouse Country Baptist Church with an initial 16 students. Glasshouse Country Uniting Church opened its church at Beerwah on 16 December 2000, The architects were Thomson Adsett Architects. It was a result of the merger of the Glasshouse Uniting Church, Beerwah Uniting Church, Landsborough Uniting Church and Mooloolah Uniting Church.

Beerwah is a growing hinterland town. Transport links to Brisbane and northbound destinations at Beerwah railway station on the Nambour and Gympie North railway line. Beerwah has high public transport usage with 0.6% of residents using public transportation for their work commute, placing it in the top 20% on the Sunshine Coast. A small bypass was constructed south of the town, including an overpass of the railway, a large roundabout at Roberts Road, and traffic signals at Kilcoy Beerwah Road and Steve Irwin Way. This work opened to traffic in October 2009. As part of that project, however, the original level crossing was closed and demolished, causing concern among local residents who claimed it sliced the town in two. In 2010, many residents began to complain about the lack of signage to the town centre. The town entrance now features two distinctive large directional signs, one at the Steve Irwin Way entrance, and one at the roundabout after travelling over the railway bridge.