Pioneer Cottage, Buderim

Pioneer Cottage is a wooden house from the 1800s in Buderim with four rooms built around a central hallway. The walls and structural elements use local timber including tallowwood, white beech, and red cedar, woods native to this area.

The house was built in 1882 by JK Burnett, who migrated from Somerset in England to settle in this area. It stands as one of the oldest surviving sawn-timber structures on Buderim Mountain, marking the early development of the settlement.

The rooms display how early settlers lived on the Sunshine Coast, with furniture and objects from the 1800s showing their daily routines and habits. Each space reflects the practical needs and customs of the pioneers who cleared and developed this region.

The house is open on weekdays and can be walked through at your own pace; it has limited space, so visiting at quieter times is advisable. The rooms are narrow, so move slowly and watch for low doorframes and tight passages throughout.

The house has kept its original structure and many original details across many generations without major renovations changing its form. This makes it a rare example of what early timber buildings looked like in Australia before modern changes altered them.