Mapleton

Mapleton is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.

Mapleton is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Mapleton had a population of 1,564 people.It includes one of Queensland’s largest Outdoor Education Centres (QCCC Mapleton), the Lilyponds, the Mapleton Tavern and historic Seaview House (St Isidore's Farm College), and is well known for its 180 degree panoramic views of the Sunshine Coast.

Early settlers of the area grew fruit, vegetables and cereal crops. The first timber cutters extracted red cedar and beech timber taking it to Nambour. Initially the settlement was known as Luton Vale until 1899 when the name was changed after the English town.Mapleton Provisional School opened on 17 July 1899. It became Mapleton State School on 1 January 1909.In 1906 the road from the Mary Valley to Mapleton was complete.By 1909 a sawmill was operating in the town. It closed in 1972.The Mapleton Methodist Church was officially opened on Sunday 11 July 1909 by the Reverend W. Stanley Bath. The church building was 20 by 24 feet (6.1 by 7.3 m) and built from hardwood that was cut at Mr Rosser's mill in Mapleton. The contractor was Mr W. Lanham. The church was located approx at 21 Flaxton Drive (26.6252°S 152.86680°E? / -26.6252; 152.86680? (Mapleton Methodist Church)). The church was still open in 1965, but, as at 2021, it is no longer operating and the building no longer exists.From 1915 through until 1944, Mapleton was served by a 2-foot (610 mm) gauge Mapleton Tramway which ran nearly 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Nambour. It was worked by two shay locomotives.Pineapples, dairying and small crops were the towns major industries until the late 1950s.The scenic beauty of the area has allowed tourism to dominate in the decades since.