A time when five Mooloolaba penthouses sold for an average of $500,000 each was relived last week as a time capsule was opened on the Sunshine Coast.
The capsule was buried near the then new Landmark Resort on Mooloolaba Esplanade by Maroochy Shire Mayor Don Culley and developer Graeme Juniper in early 2000, with instructions to open it at the beginning of 2025.
The capsule contained copies of the region’s daily newspaper, which revealed how locals lived at the time, including highlighting:
- The Caloundra Bowls Club having a $3.95 T-Bone as its Bistro Daily Special, while Maroochy Surf Club had a $8.95 Monday Steak Night and Alfies at Caloundra offered a three-course menu for $25.
- A Brisbane investor buying five Mooloolaba penthouses for a total of $2.5 million.
- A beachside four-bedroom home on Oceanic Drive, Warana, selling for $219,000.
- A Buderim three-bedroom unit with air con and ocean views was available to rent for $190 a week.
- How cheap used cars were, including a Datsun 200B (1980 model) with new brakes and excellent motor/gear box and good tyres going for $500 (ONO).
- There was no Netflix and chill, with the top videos to rent being Notting Hill, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Matrix and Two Hands.
- There was also no Spotify, with CDs costing from $5 featuring popular artists like Vanessa Amorosi (Absolutely Everybody), Macy Gray (I Try), Tom Jones and the Cardigans (Burning Down the House) and Madison Avenue (Don’t Call Me Baby).
- And … there was no iPhone, with Dick Smith Electronics selling a landline home phone with call waiting for $49.
The capsule also contained letters from Mayor Culley and Mr Juniper.
Mr Culley’s key wishes for the region in 2025 were environment-related, as this was “our single greatest resource”.
He sought “continuing acquisition of fragile areas of land requiring conservation and rehabilitation for fauna and flora, from the Coast to the hinterland, as well as connections with our adjoining Shires and City (Caloundra)”.
He also wished for a “healthy ocean”, “plentiful mullet and bream” and “everyone enjoying themselves in a very beautiful and special area known as the Sunshine Coast which we have tried to sensitively develop and protect”.
Mr Juniper wrote about the reasons behind the time capsule, chiefly the need to preserve the history of “a vital period”.
He predicted Mooloolaba would have “found its place as one of the premier tourist destinations north of Brisbane”.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the retrieval of the time capsule was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the past 25 years and to look at how much the region had flourished.
“Mr Juniper’s vision for Mooloolaba as a tourist haven definitely came true, and Mr Culley’s advice regarding preserving the environment – our number one resource – could not have been wiser.”
