Kawana Waters was the name given to a residential land development scheme in the coastal area of Landsborough Shire between Point Cartwright and Currimundi Creek. It was famed for its heathland wild flowers.
During World War II the area was used as a firing range. In the late 1950s the Landsborough Shire Council and the Queensland Government entered into a development lease of their combined landholding (3826 acres) with Alfred Grant Pty Ltd, the owner of a small adjoining parcel. The plan was for the Kawana Island residential development separated from the mainland by a tidal waterway from Currimundi Creek to Mooloolah River. Hydrological problems defeated the plan, and the island became 'Kawana Waters'.
The name was proposed by Alfred Grant, relying on Rex Ingamells' Australian Aboriginal Words (Melb 1955) which stated that 'Kawana (Q)' meant wild flowers. Grant (1917-83) launched early land releases. The credit squeeze compelled him to withdraw and the Hooker Corporation's Kawana Estates Pty Ltd continued the project. Grant had also persuaded the government to allot suburban names (Buddina etc) along the Kawana Waters coastline, and those names came into play as subdivisions were released. Access was provided by the Frank Nicklin Way (1965), built by the developer under the terms of the agreement.
The name continues with Kawana Waters State College (1986) in Bokarina and Kawana Shoppingworld (1980) in Buddina.
Gary McKay, Times of change: a history of Caloundra City, Caloundra, Caloundra City Council, 2007
Anne Wensley et al, Kawana's yesterdays: an introduction to the history of Kawana Waters, Caloundra, John Frederick Groves, 2007
Birtinya, Bokarina, Buddina, Parrearra, Warana and Wurtulla entries
