For more than 28 years the EHA has been collecting and preserving materials relating to the history of our community and our district. The holdings of the EHA encompass thousands of unique documents and images relating to the history of Eumundi.

Built largely upon its timber and dairy industries, the Eumundi township has become a vibrant mecca for artists and craftsmen and a firm favourite with visitors.

Gourmet eateries, renowned art galleries, craft shops and historical pubs sit side-by-side along the wide main street.

Many of the buildings in this unique town were constructed between 1890 and 1930 are are fine examples of the era - including the "Discover Eumundi" building, the original bank building, the old bakery and the School of Arts Hall.

Every Saturday and Wednesday this relaxed hinterland town springs to life in the early hours of the morning, transforming into a bustling market for shoppers looking for something different.

Towering Heritage-listed fig trees rise above the 500-plus stalls and the shady walkways.

The hustle and bustle of market day is a reminder of days gone by when the main street was filled with cattle trains and timber loads.

From the early 1850s, almost all the area in the vicinity of the Eumundi district was part of three cattle runs - Canando, Yandina and North Kenilworth.

The first road through the district was a dray road, which was marked and cleared immediately after gold was discovered at Gympie in 1867.

By the time the first settlers arrived, the leases of the cattle runs had lapsed and the area was ready for closer settlement. Among the first to reside permanently in the Eumundi district were Joseph and George Gridley in 1879. A wave of new settlers began to arrive and 47 selections were taken up by 1885. Pioneer settlers included Ball, Arundell, Cowell, Burrell and Fullager.

It was Fullager who selected Portion 110 in 1882. This was forfeited and the Crown took over and had this portion surveyed for streets and for the sale of blocks of land.

This then became the town of Eumundi and lots were first offered for sale in 1890. By 1900, shops started to appear, streets were formed and the town businesses developed.

Soon there were several general stores, a bakery, saddler, blacksmiths, butcher shops, auctioneers and agents.

After the railway was opened from Yandina to Cooroy in 1891, Eumundi developed as an important centre of the timber and dairying industry.

In 1895 George Etheridge moved his sawmill from Petrie’s Creek (Nambour) to Main Camp and in 1900 moved it again to Eumundi, where it functioned as a timber mill until 1938. In 1922, a second sawmill was brought in from Verrierdale by Straker, Gilliland and Bloomfield, and situated near the Butter Factory, convenient to the railway siding there.

As the timber was felled and the land cleared, paspalum and other grasses were planted and dairy farms established.

The building of two butter factories, one at Eumundi and the other at Cooroy by 1920 indicates the significance of the dairying industry in the 1920s.