Culture & History

Scarred Trees and Silcrete

This forest is home to many large old growth habitat trees, many of which would be over 300 years old. These trees are not just of great environmental signficance, a number of these trees have great cultural signficance. Scarred trees are those which have had their bark removed by making deep cuts in a tree with a stone axe. Indigenous Australians use this bark for the creation of canoes, shelters, shields and containers.

Scarred trees and stone tools made of silcrete are significant evidence of Aboriginal occupation and activities in the area that they are located.

On a short walk through the road footprint on 5/9/2015 at least two items of cultural significance were found.

Silcrete found within the road footprint

Scarred tree within the road footprint

The Mooloolah Cemetery

Ewen Maddock indicating the approximate position of Edmund Lander's grave in the old Mooloolah (now Glenview) Cemetery. Ewen Maddock was a well-known identity in the Mooloolah/Glenview area. Edmund Lander travelled by boat up the Mooloolah River in 1861 searching for red cedar, he selected land and called it Mooloolah Plains. Picnic tables are visible in the Jowarra Road Rest Area in the background near the Rustic Cabin, on what in 2014 is on the edge of the Beerwah Forest Reserve on Steve Irwin Way, just south of the Caloundra Road Off-Ramp of the Bruce Highway.

Daisy's Place

Built back in the 1923 by ‘Daisy’ Emma Johnson and her husband Samuel Dorrington Johnson, it began life as The Rustic Cabin offering home-made pies and Devonshire teas. During Daisy's ownership, The Rustic Cabin even received a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. It was a place where all walks of life could enjoy a lovingly prepared snack in the shady Jowarra Scenic Park.

Sadly, Sam died in 1945 leaving Daisy to look after their home and business. It was a time of great sadness in Daisy’s life as their only daughter had died at the age of ten just eight years earlier. Things changed again a bit for Daisy when the Bruce Highway was re-aligned in the 1960’s. It would mean the Rustic Cabin would move from its original site to where it stands today.

The iconic landmark would suffer it’s biggest loss when it was announced that one of the Sunshine Coast’s most famous pioneers, Daisy Emma Johnson died at the age of 85 on the 27th of January 1978. Ownership passed through a number of hands since but it would never be the same without Daisy.

In October 2010 Sue Joseph began the venture and vision to rebuild Daisy's Place. Focus, commitment and a fire in the belly has breathed brand new life into the old place. It’s a new beginning, a new offering, a new experience but there’s still a lot of the old Daisy in Daisy’s Place. “We’re paying homage to a truly great lady who originally owned and almost single-handedly ran the Rustic Cabin. It will always be huge part of the local community and keep giving travellers a place to enjoy themselves for many years to come.”

Unfortunately the current plans for Stage One of the upgrade of the Caloundra overpass will see the road in front of Daisy's Place be at a dead end. This will remove the benefit of passing traffic, and make access more difficult. Due to the extra pressures this would place on the restaurant, Daisy's Place is on the verge of being closed for good.

For more information about the history of Daisy's Place, you can watch this video here.

'Daisy' Emma Johnson