A nature-based hinterland tourist park has submitted plans for an expansion and addition of a cafe and function centre.
Kookaburra Park at Cambroon, near Kenilworth, is seeking permission from Sunshine Coast Council to operate 42 camping sites plus three cabins on its 30-hectare site.
It is also planning to add a cafe, which would be open to the public, plus a wedding venue within an existing building known as The Barn.
A planning report by Danya Cook Town Planning on behalf of Kookaburra Park Property Pty Ltd, which is directed by Adam and Emma Dickson, says the development application seeks to formalise and expand upon existing use of the site at 2951 Maleny Kenilworth Road.
“The park has been historically operating as 36 sites plus up to six cabins, though currently licensed for 12 sites and operating with a mix of powered and unpowered camping sites and cabins,” it states.
“It is anticipated that the nature-based tourism component of the proposed development will realistically average 120 people on-site most days, with a maximum number of 250 people, which factors in public holiday peak times, day visitors and a growing need for additional staff as the park expands.”
Previously called Cambroon Caravan Park, the facility was established in the 1960s and catered mainly to permanent residents. Since then it has had five different owners.
The report says the Dicksons purchased the site in 2019 and began revamping it, with permanent residents moved on.
“When we purchased the property it was a really rundown, poorly maintained caravan park, but decades prior it had been a beautiful caravan park,” Ms Dickson said.
“It has had a few iterations over the years. We want to bring it back to its original glory, plus more. We want to add some sites, a glamping village and increase the number of animals we can rescue and adopt, which is part of the activities we offer guests.
“We also plan to add a cafe for our guests and also the local community, as both an employment opportunity and a gathering place, since there is nothing in Cambroon. We would be the only business open to the public, so we are quite excited about that.”
The park currently includes the pavilion-style barn, a small camp kitchen and hiking trails.
“One is dog-friendly and the other is more like a private nature reserve, with plenty of wildlife to experience,” Mr Dickson said.
“In terms of animals, we have pigs, deer, sheep, goats and guinea pigs. Guinea pigs are definitely the favourite with the kids. We do daily animal shows in the morning and afternoon. Everyone gets involved.”
The report also outlines how the function centre would operate.
“The proposed function facility (wedding venue) is intended to cater for a maximum capacity of 150 people, with the terms of an event booking being a maximum of 120 guests with a 30-person buffer for staff and vendors,” it states.
“The maximum capacity has been strategically considered by the owners to ensure events are of a relaxed nature to limit potential for acoustic and traffic conflicts with respect to neighbouring properties.
“Functions will be held at the The Barn, which is located central to the premises furthest from adjoining property boundaries.
“Wedding couples will be able to book vendors of their choosing; however, the owners will encourage couples to work with a list of trusted local suppliers.
“The venue will be BYO/DIY, which allows the couples to have the entire park to themselves and their guests. The whole park will be shut down to accommodate a function; guests not associated with the wedding party will not be permitted on-site during an event to avoid potential use conflicts.”
The cafe would be open from Friday to Sunday and be located in the existing reception building, which is a restored original settlers’ cottage that was moved from Maleny in the early 1980s.
“The reception building currently services park guests only, with the intent to open to the public once development approval is granted by council,” the report says.
“The food and drink outlet will not include a kitchen; pre-packaged food items made off-site will be sold by the outlet, which will also sell beverages (coffee, milkshakes, etc).
“(It will) provide employment opportunities and a community meeting place for the residents of Cambroon and surrounding townships.”
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The Dicksons, who live on-site, originally hail from the Gold Coast.
“We moved up with the rescue pig when we bought the 74 acres. That’s a big change,” Ms Dickson said.
“I was in business development and marketing, so I’m doing similar work now but for ourselves – plus cleaning many more toilets.
“Adam was in IT just before we bought the park. He’s a jack-of-all-trades and very handy, which is useful.
“This is what we’ve been working towards. We wanted to create our own favourite place that would also become our guests’ favourite place.
“When we started hosting the occasional wedding, the interest was enormous. We always knew we wanted to apply to become a function facility and host weddings. We’re really excited about that, although we originally saw it as a 10-year plan. It has happened a bit faster than expected, but we’re doing everything we want to do with the property under one application.
“We’ll roll it out over a few years, as we’re a very small team. It’s basically a small family business, so we’re going to take our time.
“Our neighbours are very excited, I think mostly because they’re excited to walk down for a coffee.
Mr Dickson added: “We spoke to our local state and federal members, the Minister for Tourism and the mayor while preparing our application, and everyone has been very supportive.”
The park is about 8.5km south-west of Kenilworth and about 32km north-west of Maleny. The Mary River is directly across Maleny Kenilworth Road.
The subject site is included within the Rural Zone and the application is subject to impact assessment.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
