About Beerwah Beerwah,   a   rural   town   on   the   North   Coast   railway   line,   is   70   km   north   of   central Brisbane.   It   is   named   after   Mount   Beerwah,   the   tallest   of   several   volcanic   plugs comprising   the   Glass   House   Mountains.   The   mount   is   in   a   national   park   of   245 hectares,   8   km   south-west   of   the   town.   The   name   is   believed   to   be   that   of   the Aboriginal    mother    in    a    legend    told    of    the    peaks    comprising    the    Glass    House Mountains.   Mount   Tibrogargan   signifies   the   legendary   father.   The   name   Beerwah comes    from    the    Kabi    language    (Turrbal    dialect)    word    birrawaman,    with    birra meaning sky and wandum meaning climbing up. The   Beerwah   Post   Office   opened   by August   1907;   a   receiving   office   had   been   open from    1891.   The    Coochin    Creek    Provisional    School    opened    in    November    1888, becoming   Coochin   Creek   State   School   on   1   January   1909.   In   about   November 1928,   it   was   renamed   Beerwah   State   School.   On   10   July   1952,   another   Coochin Creek   State   School   opened,   but   it   closed   on   11   March   1962.   Beerwah   State   High School opened on 1 January 1992 Beerwah   is   situated   on   Coochin   Creek,   one   of   several   streams   that   flow   from   the Glass   House   Mountains   into   the   Pumicestone   Channel.   European   settlement   began around   where   Peachester   Road   crosses   the   creek.   The   Coochin   Creek   School (1888),   the   nearby   church   (1916-57)   and   the   Coochin   Creek   Hotel,   on   Old   Gympie Road,   in   the   direction   of   Mt   Coochin,   were   the   main   features.   The   North   Coast railway   (1890)   shifted   the   focus   of   settlement   eastwards   where   there   were   a   sawmill (1901)   and   a   hotel   (1914,   replaced   by   a   super   market).   Motoring   levels   along   the road   known   as   the   Bruce   Highway,   which   later   became   the   Glass   House   Mountains Tourist Road, confirmed the change. Soldier    settlement    farms    were    established    after    World    War    I.    The    post    office directory   of   1924   recorded   25   farmers   and   selectors,   seven   fruit-growers   and   two poultry   farmers.   Timber   production   was   important,   employing   four   teamsters   to   bring logs   to   the   sawmill.   There   were   also   two   storekeepers,   two   butchers,   a   newsagent and   a   blacksmith   and   the   Coochin   Creek   Fruit   Growers'   Cooperative   had   the   local cool store. Beerwah   was   a   farming   and   timber   community   until   the   1980's   when   residential development   quickly   grew.   Beerwah   High   School   (1992)   and   Glass   House   Country Christian    College    (2000)    signified    Beerwah's    role    as    a    significant    town    in    the Caloundra   hinterland.   Its   public   profile   was   raised   by   the   opening   of   Steve   Irwin's Australia   Zoo   and   the   attendant   publicity   of   his   infamous   stunts   with   crocodiles. Sadly,   Irwin   was   killed   in   2006   by   a   stingray   while   filming   a   documentary   at   Port Douglas.   In      the   same   year,   the   main   road   next   to   Australia   Zoo   was   renamed   the Steve   Irwin   Way   in   his   honour,   and   the   following   year   a   bronze   statue   of   Irwin   was unveiled at the zoo. Beerwah   has   a   drive-in   shopping   centre   (Turner   Park),   a   Progress   Association,   a community   hall,   a   sports   ground   with   a   youth   activities   centre,   a   golf   course,   a swimming   pool,   a   hotel   and   a   motel.   The   Glass   House   Visitor   Information   Centre, just off Steve Irwin Way at Beerwah, opened in 2009.