Gheerulla

Gheerulla is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Gheerulla had a population of 291 people.

Geography
Much of the locality is within the Mapleton National Park, which extends into neighbouring Belli Park, Cooloolabin, and beyond. The Blackall Range (-26.607°N, 152.8728°W) runs through the east and north-east of the locality within the national park.

Gheerulla has the following mountains and cliffs:


 * Mount Thilba Thalba (-26.5793°N, 152.786°W) 464 m


 * Gheerulla Bluff (-26.5769°N, 152.7847°W)

Apart from the national park, the land use in the locality is predominantly grazing on native vegetation and some rural residential housing.
 * Rocky Bluff (-26.5508°N, 152.8072°W)

History
Gheerulla is an Aboriginal word meaning empty creek.

The Blackall Range was named in 1868 by Edward Parker Bedwell, a hydrographic surveyor in the Royal Navy, after the Governor of Queensland Samuel Wensley Blackall.

St Matthew's Anglican Church was dedicated on 28 June 1926 by Archbishop Gerald Sharp. 200 people attended the opening. Its closure was approved by Bishop Jonathan Holland with a final service on Sunday 17 May 2015. The church was at 2210 Eumundi Kenilworth Road (-26.5563°N, 152.7729°W) on a 0.4 ha site. It was sold on 14 March 2016 for $210,000.

Demographics
In the, Gheerulla had a population of 214 people.

In the, Gheerulla had a population of 291 people.

Education
There are no schools in Gheerulla. The nearest government primary schools are Kenilworth State College in neighbouring Kenilworth to the west and Mapleton State School in neighbouring Mapelton to the south. The nearest government secondary schools are Mary Valley State College (to Year 10) in Imbil to the north-west and Noosa District State High School (to Year 120 which has its junior campus in Pomona to the north and its senior campus in Cooroy to the north-east.

Attractions
There are a number of lookouts in Gheerulla:


 * Gheerulla Valley Viewpoint (-26.5958°N, 152.8127°W)
 * Oaky Creek Lookout (-26.5555°N, 152.8002°W), its name is presumed to refer to nearby Oaky Creek
 * Thilba Thalba Viewpoint (-26.5794°N, 152.7891°W), its was suggested by the Sunshine Coast Environment Council as part of the Great Walk Project believed to have been found on an old map and probably of Aboriginal origin
 * Ubajee Viewpoint (-26.6063°N, 152.8319°W), its name (pronounced yu'ba'djee) is an Aboriginal word in the Gubbi Gubbi and Butchulla languages meaning home

Although in Gheerula, Gheerulla Falls are accessed from Delicia Road in Mapleton via a walking track.

The rugged Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk takes at least four days to complete. It leaves from Baroon Pocket Dam and traverses 58.8 km through the Blackall Range. Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Great Walk pass through this area.