Mount Coolum is a residential suburb on the Sunshine Coast, 11 km north of Maroochydore. Its boundaries enclose the Mount Coolum National Park (north section) and the topographical mountain (207 m). The name is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word describing the blunt or cut-off summit of Mount Coolum. The craggy mount contrasts dramatically with the lowland heaths and wetlands.
Land selection around Mount Coolum began in 1871, including the future adjoining suburbs of Marcoola, Yaroomba and Coolum Beach. All had swampy parts, but drainage schemes during the 1910s-30s produced land for cane farms and dairying. A cane tramway from Nambour and Bli Bli included a passenger service, bringing visitors to the area. Among various beach-subdivision proposals there was the idea of tobogganing on Mount Coolum.
Coolum Beach's surfing and fishing were more realistic attractions, and the beachfront population came to a few thousand by the mid 1980s. Developers turned their eyes to the mountain's subdivisional potential, but a successful preservation campaign instead brought about the national park. Land south of the national park had already been acquired for a golf course (1976). Mount Coolum is a stunning backdrop.
Mount Coolum has a small local shopping centre on David Low Way and a stretch of beach further east. Schools are found in Coolum Beach. Mount Coolum's census populations have been:
| census date | population |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 3173 |
| 2011 | 3669 |
