Kin Kin

Kin Kin, a rural town, is about midway between Gympie and Noosa, but northwards off the road between those two places. It is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal expression describing a species of black ant.

Kin Kin's earliest industry was timber-getting from the range to its west and down toward the coast. Logs were rafted down Kin Kin Creek to a sawmill at Elanda Point on Lake Cootharaba (1880s-). A massive Kauri pine (Bell's tree) at Kin Kin had a height of nearly 49 metres and a stem diameter of 2.1 metres.

After farm selections were taken up around Kin Kin, primary schools were opened at Kin Kin Junction (1909-81) and in the village itself (1916). According to the post office directory in 1912 only the bare rudiments, a store and a butcher, were available to farmers and selectors.

By the mid-1920s the amenities had increased significantly: Kin Kin Dairy Co (1914-37), a store, ES & A Bank, motor garage, Kin Kin Hotel, blacksmith, sawmill and four teachers for the two schools. There were also 120 farms, with 35 being recorded as banana growers and 15 as dairy workers. That ratio was about the same in 1948, but fewer farms were recorded.

Successful dairying around Kin Kin was helped by experienced communal settlers from northern NSW who were also skilled timber-fellers. Their Moran Group School operated from 1909 to 1952.

As part of the Noosa hinterland Kin Kin experienced rising land and property prices in the 2000s. It has a general store, a hotel, a sports ground, a primary school and a sawmill. Its census populations have been: