Background
The idea of developing the digital sector in the Noosa region began to get traction in the wake of Local Economic strategy review by Council in 2013 that identified an over-reliance on the tourism and hospitality sectors, and the catastrophic economic disruptions caused by uncontrollable factors like major weather events, natural disasters and pandemics.
That review also recognised that Noosa has finite carrying capacity for tourists and visitors and that other sectors needed to be developed in order to grow the economy and ensure the continued prosperity of the Noosa community. It also identified the problem of a youth brain drain from the region and the need for more attractive employment options to help retain young people in the region.
Around the same time, a small digital sector had started to form organically in the region. A company called Atmail, a cloud email provider, had established itself in a small office space in Peregian Beach and there was a nascent community of digital professionals and consultants working remotely via the rapidly improving broadband in the region.
The first digital sector networks started to form at this time, with the creation of the Silicon Coast and Coding from Beach meetup groups. Members of this community, led by Brian Keayes, organised a TEDx event in Noosa in 2013 and a key theme of the event was technology and innovation.
These activities heavily influenced Council’s decision to add the Digital sector to the economic development mix, recognising it as a high value employment sectors with a small environmental footprint, that could be nurtured to boost Noosa’s economic resilience.
In 2013 the Peregian Beach Bowls Club went into receivership, unable to sustain itself financially. Council acquired the land, partly to stave off community concerns about the development of a shopping centre on the site.
