Caloundra

Distinguished and Famous people from Caloundra

🎨 Kathleen McArthur

Botanical artist and conservationist Kathleen McArthur founded the Caloundra branch of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland in 1963. Her paintings and campaigning shared a subject: the coastal vegetation increasingly threatened by development. She recorded Sunshine Coast wildflowers in artwork and helped argue for the protection of wallum heathlands. Currimundi Lake's conservation park bears her name. Her local contribution brought close observation and public action together, showing that a wildflower could be both a painting subject and a reason to question what was happening to its habitat.

🏅 Ma and Pa Bendall

Marjorie and Charles 'Ben' Bendall took up surfing in their fifties after settling in Caloundra, earning the affectionate names Ma and Pa. They encouraged younger surfers, and Pa formed the Moffateers club in 1966 to promote sportsmanship. The couple also recorded surfing on film, including the appropriately titled Never Too Old in 1964. A park overlooking Moffat Beach and the memorial surfing competition preserve their association. Their story makes a persuasive local case for beginning an unlikely pastime rather than deciding that the moment has passed.

🐄 John James “Jack” Ahern

Jack Ahern moved to Caloundra in 1989 after selling Connemara, the Conondale property where he had developed his farming career. He was a dairy-industry leader who worked on improving cattle and pastures and later switched to beef production. His public influence also came through Country Party and National Party organisation, including years managing Francis Nicklin’s election campaigns. His son Mike, rather than Jack, became Queensland premier. Caloundra was Jack’s final home until his death in 1994, linking the coastal town with a rural career spent chiefly in the hinterland. The distinction keeps the retirement connection clear without moving the farm to the coast.