Our history

Noosa Parks Association (NPA) was founded in 1962 and is now Queensland’s oldest community conservation organisation.

In late 1962, a local GP, Arthur Harrold, along with a small group of concerned Noosa residents, created Noosa Parks Association with the express intent of campaigning to prevent a road being built along what is now the coastal walking track to Alexandria Bay. Such a road would have confined the headland section of Noosa National Park to being landlocked.  History shows that the NPA-led community activism prevented this from occurring.

Today NPA is a highly effective independent non-government, non-party-political community environmental organisation.

NPA realised significant conservation wins over the past 50 years in this special part of the world. The thousands of hectares of national parks that surround Noosa are direct proof of the Association’s hard work over the decades.

NPA helped secure National Park protection for Cooloola.  This section of the Great Sandy National Park now covers more than 65,000 hectares.

NPA helped secure the significant enlargement of Noosa National Park with the addition of large land parcels extending south to Coolum – most recently the Marcus High Dunes section in 2001.

NPA helped secure National Park protection for Tewantin National Park which was previously listed as Forest Reserve.

Working with the previous Noosa Council, NPA helped lay the foundations of the Noosa Town Plan which included the development of a “population cap” based on idealised carrying capacity for Noosa Shire.

NPA supported landmark decisions such as a ban on high-rise buildings, protection of important tidal wetlands and a road system without traffic lights and parking meters.

NPA’s involvement in helping shape Noosa into what it is today was recognised by the Commonwealth Government. NPA  was invited to be a co-signatory on the Noosa Biosphere Reserve nomination that was submitted to UNESCO.