25 ways you knew you grew up on the Sunshine Coast
ARE you a true Sunshine Coast local?
Do you remember jumping into the Kombi van to spend the day surfing, before heading to Butts Shopping Centre at Maroochydore and then spending the night dancing at Chifley's at Alexandra Headland?
Daily readers took a trip down memory lane when we asked on Facebook to finish the sentence "you know you grew up on the Sunshine Coast when..."
Fill in the blank: You know you grew up on the Sunshine Coast when_______.
Posted by Sunshine Coast Daily on Thursday, 28 May 2015
The question created a thriving community forum about just what made up a Coast childhood and our fondest memories of our beautiful region.
Here is a snapshot of Sunshine Coast life over the decades.
1. Your family albums consist of visits to our biggest attraction- the Big Pineapple. And who could forget the pineapple parfaits?!
2. You can remember the diving boards at Bulcock Beach.
3. Erm...you know what the "Shangri-La" means (that's a nude beach during the 70s at Bokarina, for those wondering)
4. You have photos with your siblings at the Teddy Bears Cottage, Nostalgia Town, the Superbee, the Ginger Factory and all the other weird and wonderful tourist attractions over the years
5. Remember chasing the soot as it fell from the sky in Nambour while mum battled to keep the washing clean as the sugar cane trains rumbled through town
6. You remember the aquabikes and trampolines at Cotton Tree where the Boatshed now is
7. You've visited the House of Bottles at Tewantin- the Coast's strangest collection of items
8. You can tick off all the "big icons" by flicking through a photo album- The Big Pineapple, the Big Dinosaur, the Big Cow.
9. You partied at Chifleys in the 80s at Alexandra Headland
10. When Maroochy Sands was the only highrise
11.You remember going to the Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park before it was Australia Zoo
>>CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS OF THE EARLY DAYS OF STEVE IRWIN
12. You remember the Bruce Highway going through Nambour and Yandina
13. You used to visit the big yellow Great Australian Ice Creamery in Bulcock Street
14. You remember Prince Charles and Princess Diana visiting the Big Pineapple and Buderim Ginger Factory in 1983
![Princess Diana and Prince Charles visit the Big Pineapple in 1983.
Image from the Queensland State Archives. [Digital Image ID 7998. Item ID 1460350.]](https://media.apnarm.net.au/media/images/2015/05/31/pic_4_diana-yo0a5a7jvz4iqcuj9k2.bmp "Princess Diana and Prince Charles visit the Big Pineapple in 1983.
Image from the Queensland State Archives. [Digital Image ID 7998. Item ID 1460350.]")
15. There was bushland all down Nicklin Way and there were signs up for house and land packages for $95,000
16. When you got to see awesome bands at Alex Hotel and Mooloolaba Hotel
17. You know how to pronounce Bli Bli correctly
18. You wish the days of the drive ins were still around and can remember them at Maroochydore, Noosa and Caloundra
19. You can remember the Black Hole waterslides at Currimundi
20. You remember the excitement and lights of the opening of the Sunshine Plaza. Before that the old Big Top was the place to be, and you most certainly bought your school dress from Snazzy's or Butt's before that.
_t1880.jpg "It was an exciting time when Sunshine Plaza opened")
21. You could get a burger with the lot for $1 served by Betty herself at Betty's Burgers, Noosa
22. You ate stax chips and gravy after school with your friends at the Sands Shopping Centre
23. You know where all the "secret" gorgeous waterfalls are
24. You are enjoying a meal at the Caloundra RSL and can say you were born across the road
25. There's sand everywhere- in the car, between your toes and in your shoes, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
