With vacant land around the beach and river already rapidly running out in the early 1970s, Maroochydore, like all coastal centres, had only one way to expand - west - and so the new suburb of Kuluin took off beside the main road into Maroochydore from the Bruce Highway.
At the time, there was no four-lane bypass separating Kunda Park and North Buderim and no Sunshine Motorway. Main Road was in fact the main road that wound its way into Maroochydore past Fisherman’s Road and Commercial Road, just as it does now.
The first small estate was called McArthur Park, but as word of an affordable housing option close to Maroochydore spread, the streets of Kuluin, radiating from Tallowood Drive as its principal thoroughfare, quickly filled with houses.
Although readily accessed from both ends of Main Road, it nevertheless benefited greatly from construction of the bypass, which allowed it to mature into a leafy suburb handy to shops, river and beach.
At the 2006 census, Kuluin had 2177 residents with a median age of 33. Dwellings are predominantly detached housing, with units or townhouses making up just under 10 per cent, and about 25 per cent of properties are rentals.
At about the same time Kuluin was springing up, the Kunda Park industrial zone was turning cow paddocks into a manufacturing precinct. The tone was set by block and concrete plants established in the 1960s to meet demand for housing and construction materials. By the 1980s, the few remaining houses that had been on the southern side of the road at Kunda Park were gone and expansion has continued west.
On the south-western ridge above Kunda Park, accessed from Maroochydore Road, Tyrone Heights is a small residential estate in the Buderim foothills, with quality homes taking advantage of mainly western views.
Summing up: A pocket off Maroochydore Road that’s close to Maroochydore, river and beach, Kuluin offers a mix of brick and tile houses and units for mainly families and couples. As an older suburb it is also generally more affordable than some of its neighbours. It has its own local shopping, parks and primary school and is an easy bike ride from Maroochydore High. It is unaffected by the nearby Kunda Park industrial estate.
