All sides of Noosa: Deep dive into the shire’s elites and battlers
From high-powered interstate executives driving Ferraris to tenacious business identities trying to find staff, we dive into what life is like on the two sides of the shire in this special report.
Noosa
Don't miss out on the headlines from Noosa. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Home to Ferraris, high-end restaurants and copious amounts of linen, the wealthy end of the Noosa shire has become a melting pot of Australia’s who’s who.
Once a humble and sleepy beach town north of the Sunshine Coast, areas like Noosa Heads, Noosaville and Sunshine Beach have become meccas for the well-off and well-known.
Multimillion-dollar property deals for homes have become the norm, leading to an influx of cashed-up interstate travellers combining with long-term locals and tourists looking for a break away from the hustle and bustle.
A few minutes’ drive away is Tewantin, a laid-back locale where community spirit is strong and long-term residents are noticing a change in the demographic.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that the average household income of Tewantin residents is $1261 a week and nearly 3000 families call the town home.
The people
When looking at the demographics of the Noosa Shire, it’s clear there is a contrast between the glitter strip areas and its hinterland counterparts.
Australian Census data reveals the median age of the council area is 50, with 20.7 per cent and 15.2 per cent having professional and manager occupations.
Real estate guru Tom Offermann runs his own eponymous agency in the heart of Noosa and said some of his clientele came from these lines of work.
Mr Offermann said it ranged from buyers from interstate, beneficiaries of estates and inheritances, high-level professionals, executives, tech giants and wealthy retirees who were mixed in with long-term locals.
“Some of these buyers end up becoming part-time residents where their second holiday home will be here,” he said.
“This is where they’ll come and refresh after their busy lifestyle of going to high-level meetings and living on aeroplanes.”
Close-knit community
Lurlene Hunt has owned The Bailey Kitchen in Tewantin for five years.
She described the community as “extended family” and credited the close-knit relationships with other business owners as the reason most Poinciana St shopfronts made it through Covid-19.
“We’ve all stuck together. We used the butcher, we used the baker, we used the fruit and veg shop,” Ms Hunt said.
She said everyone looked out for each other, from elderly residents to the homeless regulars who slept outside her shop.
“Tewantin has no judgment,” Ms Hunt said.
The cafe owner, who was Eumundi-born and raised, said she had “a lot” of famous people pass through her doors because Noosa was a “hop, skip and a jump” away.
“It’s Tewantin, there’s something crazy every day,” Ms Hunt said.
“People on crazy bikes, dress-up, drag, car accidents galore and the worst carparking ever.”
The housing and cost of living
House prices have surged in recent years due to the Covid-19 crisis in 2020, leading to a mass migration of southerners into the Noosa Shire.
Real estate experts have previously told the Sunshine Coast Daily that Noosa’s property market had “escalated out of control” in the past two years with cashed up interstate buyers squeezing out local buyers.
Alba restaurant owner Peter Kuruvita said despite this, he continued to see a good selection of punters in his years in the fine dining industry.
“Since Covid you need a lot more money to live here and it is attracting more affluent people,” Mr Kuruvita said.
“It’s not like California or Monaco here, but you do see more and more Ferraris driving around Noosa.”
Mr Kuruvita said he’s had workers priced out of the suburb, with one employee driving from Bribie Island to his restaurant each day for work.
“During that boom a year ago, every real estate agent was knocking on our doors to sell with houses lasting a minute or two,” he said.
“I’ve personally seen a lot of restaurants in the Junction change hands over the past few years too.”
Staff shortage solutions
Flo’s Creperie owner Florian Guillemard opened the Noosa Junction business about a year ago and said finding staff was not the problem in the Noosa shire.
“You can find staff, it’s more the accommodation,” he said.
“This winter was okay, but now the summer season is finished in Europe all the backpackers are coming en masse and they need accommodation and workers are struggling to find rooms.”
He said the housing shortage was felt worldwide and young people were being pushed out everywhere.
The owner said in France restaurant owners would rent homes and sub-let to their staff or buy homes and rent to their staff.
“So here I think that will happen slowly,” Mr Guillemard said.
The lifestyle
Despite it’s soaring house prices and cost of living, tourists from far and wide continue to flock to the opulent areas of Noosa Heads and Noosaville for a taste of the better life.
Noosa police officer-in-charge Troy Cavell said his station saw daily the contrasting lifestyles in what is a traditionally low-crime area compared to the Sunshine Coast.
“Some days our guys will be pulling over someone over in a Lamborghini and then the next day it will be a teenager on a dirt bike in Boreen Point,” Senior Sergeant Troy Cavell said.
“What we see is a lot of the community members do blend in together when they’re out for a good time, so we’ll see tradies in with the super wealthy.
“A lot of the time people don’t care how much money you have. You’ll see Mark Webber on the beach, celebrities on Makepeace Island and Kevin Rudd walking around with his wife and they don’t get treated differently at all.”
Police sources have said there have been encounters with the rich and famous, including an NRL star on about a $900,000-a-year salary who demanded officers drive him home after a night out in Noosa Heads.
Community sources say some interstate travellers who have migrated to Noosa have come to terms with the scarcity of parking during peak holiday times.
“Some of these guys pay $8m for a home and don’t expect noise complaints or their street to become a carpark at Christmas,” one source told this publication.
Beauty influencer Emily Ghougassian moved to the Noosa area this year from Melbourne looking for a lifestyle change for her family due to the lockdowns.
“My husband and I wanted to live a healthy and natural lifestyle, which was really appealing to me,” Mrs Ghougassian said.
Her husband left his old job and began his own real estate venture in Noosa, often working from home before flying down to meet clients in Victoria.
Mrs Ghougassian said she was well aware of the linen fashion scene that is a common sight along Hastings St.
Having three children of her own, she confessed she needed to experience the culinary and night-life scene a bit more, but had been impressed by Mr Drifter’s cocktail bar in Sunshine Beach and Locale in Hastings St, Noosa Heads.
The Marcus Beach mum said her family was told great things about Noosa by friends who’d moved in, and now enjoyed the friendly nature of the community.
“Everyone is so friendly up here, and always wanting to have a chat, I always thought Melburnians were really friendly people,” she said.
“But they seem grumpy and bitter compared to people up here.”
Noosa shire retirement
Retiree Rita Chapman moved from Sydney with her husband 14 years ago to Tewantin because it was easy to find action in Noosa Heads or Noosaville and quiet in her town.
The former secretary said Tewantin was now a mix of retirees, families and a lot of working couples.
“Now people can work from home so they can work anywhere,” she said.
“There’s a lot more people, it’s a lot busier.”
Mrs Chapman said she enjoyed a “hit and a giggle” and had made great friends through the Tewantin Tennis Club, which was close to her home.
The retiree said the laid-back atmosphere was what attracted her to Tewantin and her retirement allowed her to become an author.
High-end Noosa chef accused of dealing psychedelics, party drugs
A Sunshine Coast man who works at a ritzy Hastings St restaurant has been charged by police, accused of trafficking drugs including LSD and MDMA.
Watch: Furniture removalist arrested over alleged $75k heist
Police have released video of the arrest of a 46-year-old Gympie man who is accused of stealing $75,000 worth of copper and causing $200,000 in damage across Gympie and the Sunshine Coast. WATCH THE VIDEO: