Origin of name
Marcus Beach is named after Marcus Burke, son of T M Burke, who took over as Chairman of T M Burke Pty Ltd company on the death of his father. T M Burke was responsible for much of the development of the coastal towns from Sunshine Beach to Peregian Beach. Castaways Beach took its name from the Castaway Motel which was the first development on this section of coast.
History of settlement
Marcus Beach and Castaways Beach are situated on David Low Way, south of Sunrise Estate between Burgess Creek and Peregian Beach.
The land was part of the lease arrangement between the State Government and T M Burke which granted development rights to T M Burke in exchange for the construction of the coastal highway and relinquishment of freehold land owned by the company north of Sunshine Beach at Alexandra Bay for inclusion in the Noosa National Park.
The first development was the Castaways Motel owned by Peter and Marea Brown on the eastern side of the highway facing north. The name lent itself to the Castaways Estate built on the western side of the highway with the street names following a nautical theme such as Wavecrest Drive.
Australian Rugby League legend Norm Provan’s company was responsible for developing Marcus Dune Court to the south of Castaways Estate on the east side of the highway with ocean frontage.
Further down the coast the beach frontage lots for Marcus Beach were first developed from the 1970s with the balance on the western side of the highway in the 1980s. Road names followed a timber theme e.g. Redwood.
A controversy arose between the T M Burke company and the Noosa Council regarding the exact limits of the leased areas. In particular, the Council was keen to maintain an area known as the Marcus High Dunes undeveloped and sought to protect that land through its planning scheme. An agreement was reached ultimately for the payment of compensation to the Company for the loss of development rights. The land, which has wonderful views of both Lake Weyba and the ocean, now forms part of the Lake Weyba section of the Noosa National Park.
Both localities offer proximity to the beach and are bounded by National Park. Castaways Beach is unique in having only houses (no units) on its 13 streets and has significant areas of park within the neighbourhood.