Rainbow Beach, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Rainbow Beach is a coastal town in south-eastern Queensland
, Australia
, east of Gympie
. At the 2006 census
, Rainbow Beach had a population of 999. The town's name derives from the rainbow-coloured sand dunes surrounding the settlement; according to the legends of the Kabi
people, the dunes were coloured when Yiningie, a spirit represented by a rainbow, plunged into the cliffs after doing battle with an evil tribesman. Much of the sand colors stem from the rich content of minerals in the sand, such as rutile
, ilmenite
, zircon
, and monazite
. A black dune of ilmenite sands, overgrown by dune vegetation can be found north west of the main town. This is currently being removed for sale in China with complete removal expected to take two years.
Originally a sand-mining community and gazetted in 1969, the town's economy is now heavily influenced by tourism. Double Island Point
, a popular destination amongst 4WD enthusiasts, is located east of town. Vehicular ferries for Fraser Island depart from Inskip Point, north of town.
The Cooloola Section of the Great Sandy National Park
borders the town to the south. A number of walking tracks through the national park depart from the southern outskirts of Rainbow Beach. This includes the northern end point of the Cooloola Great Walk
.
By road, Rainbow Beach is located 75 km from the Bruce Highway
town of Gympie
, and 239 km from the Queensland state capital, Brisbane
.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, east of Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Rainbow Beach had a population of 999. The town's name derives from the rainbow-coloured sand dunes surrounding the settlement; according to the legends of the Kabi
Kabi
The Kabi people are an Aboriginal Goori people of Australia, and corresponding language group of the South East Queensland coast, stretching from Brisbane up to Bundaberg. In their language, "Kabi" means "No"....
people, the dunes were coloured when Yiningie, a spirit represented by a rainbow, plunged into the cliffs after doing battle with an evil tribesman. Much of the sand colors stem from the rich content of minerals in the sand, such as rutile
Rutile
Rutile is a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide, TiO2.Rutile is the most common natural form of TiO2. Two rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known:...
, ilmenite
Ilmenite
Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray. It is a crystalline iron titanium oxide . It crystallizes in the trigonal system, and it has the same crystal structure as corundum and hematite....
, zircon
Zircon
Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y...
, and monazite
Monazite
Monazite is a reddish-brown phosphate mineral containing rare earth metals. It occurs usually in small isolated crystals. There are actually at least four different kinds of monazite, depending on relative elemental composition of the mineral:...
. A black dune of ilmenite sands, overgrown by dune vegetation can be found north west of the main town. This is currently being removed for sale in China with complete removal expected to take two years.
Originally a sand-mining community and gazetted in 1969, the town's economy is now heavily influenced by tourism. Double Island Point
Double Island Point
Double Island Point is a coastal headland in Queensland, Australia. It's the next headland north of Noosa and is within the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park, at the southern end of Wide Bay....
, a popular destination amongst 4WD enthusiasts, is located east of town. Vehicular ferries for Fraser Island depart from Inskip Point, north of town.
The Cooloola Section of the Great Sandy National Park
Great Sandy National Park
Great Sandy is a coastal national park and suburb in Queensland, Australia. The park features untouched beaches, large sand dunes, heathlands, rainforests, swamps, creeks, freshwater lakes and mangrove forests....
borders the town to the south. A number of walking tracks through the national park depart from the southern outskirts of Rainbow Beach. This includes the northern end point of the Cooloola Great Walk
Cooloola Great Walk
The Cooloola Great Walk is a coastal bushwalking route in the Great Sandy National Park of South East Queensland, Australia. Opened in 2010, it runs from Noosa North Shore to Rainbow Beach, and is planned as a five-day trek...
.
By road, Rainbow Beach is located 75 km from the Bruce Highway
Bruce Highway
The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is a part of the Australian National Highway and also part of Highway 1...
town of Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
, and 239 km from the Queensland state capital, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.