Kiels Mountain Sunshine Coast, Queensland |
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Population | 657 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4559 | ||||||||||||||
Location | 99 km (62 mi) from Brisbane | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Sunshine Coast Region | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Buderim | ||||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Fairfax | ||||||||||||||
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Kiels Mountain is a suburb of the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane. At the 2011 Australian Census the suburb recorded a population of 657. The Bruce Highway defines the western boundary and Eudlo Creek passes through the southeast tip of Kiels Mountain.
The mountain is named after Heinrich "Henry" August Keil who settled on the eastern slopes in 1880. Henry Keil was the son of one of the early Lutheran missionaries/settlers of Brisbane. The Keils were prominent Salvationists during the early growth of the Salvation Army on the Sunshine Coast, and were known for their charity to the local Aborigines.
Kiels Mountain school was built on land near the corner of Preston and Diddillibah Roads, between Woombye and Diddillibah. It opened on 23 September 1918 and closed on 15 April 1962.
On 7 December 2003, 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe disappeared while waiting for a bus on Nambour-Connection Rd (Old Bruce Highway), near the Kiel Mountain Road overpass at Woombye. An arrest was made in August 2011 in connection with his death. His remains were discovered near Glass House Mountains.
At the summit of Kiels Mountain is Avatar's Abode, a 99-acre (400,000 m2) spiritual retreat dedicated to Meher Baba (1894-1969) who stayed there in 1958. Avatar's Abode is the oldest and longest-running Eastern retreat in Queensland. A large private school, Suncoast Christian College, and its associated Christian Outreach Centre is located by the juncture of the Kiels Mountain road and the old Bruce Highway.
Coordinates: 26°39′26″S 153°00′24″E / 26.65722°S 153.00667°E