By Mitch Gaynor
NINETY years after a group of local farmers came together to form what would become one of Beerwah’s most enduring businesses, the Coochin Creek Fruitgrowers’ Co-operative is celebrating a remarkable milestone.
The Co-op was officially registered on September 25, 1936, beginning a story that has run alongside the growth and changing fortunes of the Glasshouse Country district ever since.
From its early days supporting local fruitgrowers and farmers, through changing agricultural industries, droughts, floods, wars and economic upheaval, the Co-op has continued to adapt while remaining firmly rooted in the community it was created to serve.
Today it welcomes about 30,000 customers every month and operates a business that bears little resemblance to the one founded by local growers nine decades ago.
General manager Steve Williams, who joined the Co-op in 2016, said reaching 90 years was a milestone few businesses could claim.
“Ninety years is a huge milestone for any business, but particularly for a co-op that was established by local farmers and has stayed part of this community ever since,” he said.
Built to adapt
The Co-op’s history has always reflected the changing needs of local farmers.
Long before it operated its own service station, it had an arrangement with Shell to deliver fuel directly to farms.
That relationship evolved in the mid-1980s when the Co-op established its own Shell service station, which has since become a major part of the business.
The site has achieved a string of industry milestones, including becoming the leading U-Haul site in Australia and New Zealand.
Across nine decades, the Co-op has also been forced to evolve alongside major changes in local agriculture.
Tobacco returned as an important industry across Beerwah and Glass House Mountains during the 1950s and 1960s before eventually disappearing in 2006. Dairy deregulation, changing horticultural markets and the rise of smaller rural holdings have all altered the way the district farms and lives.
More recently, local producers have faced the 2018 needles-in-strawberries crisis, falling macadamia prices, pineapple oversupply, repeated flooding and the disruptions of the Covid pandemic.
Rather than remain tied to its traditional rural customer base, the Co-op has broadened its offering as Beerwah and surrounding communities have grown.
Mr Williams said one of the biggest changes of the past decade had been the shift from large-scale farming towards smaller acreage properties, hobby farms and a rapidly expanding residential population.
“Beerwah and the wider district look very different to what they did even 10 or 20 years ago,” Steve said.
“We’ve had to change with that, whether it’s the garden centre, the online store or the range of products and services we offer.”
“We still have a strong connection to agriculture, but we’re also serving a much broader community now, from hobby farmers and tradies through to families looking after their homes and gardens.”
The opening of a dedicated garden centre in 2020 in response to growing demand for domestic lawn and garden products has become an important part of the business.
The Co-op took another step in early 2025 with the launch of a new website and online store, which has already attracted customers from interstate.
Governance has also strengthened, with the Co-op recently returning to a full five-member board for the first time in seven years.
Investing in people
While the business has changed dramatically, the Co-op says one of its greatest achievements has been the people who have grown with it.
A number of staff who began working at the Co-op as juniors have gone on to build careers across a wide range of industries.
Former young employees include two qualified electricians, an automotive mechanic, a heavy diesel apprentice, a university teaching student, an agricultural college student and another who has gone on to run her own business.
That focus on young people extends to the Co-op’s Safe Travels for Young Drivers program.
Initially established through Shell Beerwah, the program works with Beerwah State High School and Glasshouse Christian College to support young people who need help gaining driving experience.
Formalised in 2024, more than 30 students have since graduated through the program.
Staff retention has also become a point of pride, with a number of employees having clocked up more than a decade with the business and others approaching similar milestones.
Mr Williams said the loyalty of staff was particularly important to a business built around long-term relationships with customers.
“When people stay with a business for that long, it says something about the culture,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard to build a team that enjoys being here and takes pride in looking after customers.”
Beyond Beerwah
The Co-op’s achievements have also gained recognition well outside the region. Shell Beerwah was recently named runner-up in the Australian Convenience Store Awards, competing against thousands of stores nationally.
In 2023, staff member Karina Degan was named Shell Service Champion from about 1300 Shell stores across Australia, earning the opportunity to represent Beerwah at the world finals in Singapore.
Shell Beerwah was also recognised as a foundation member store by New Sunrise in Tokyo in late 2023.
Closer to home, the Co-op continues to support local schools, kindergartens, the SES, Rural Fire Service and other community organisations.
A sausage sizzle run by Glasshouse SES volunteers, launched at the site in 2025, has also become a regular fixture.
It is a relationship that reflects the original purpose of the Co-op when local growers came together 90 years ago.
The business may look very different today, but its connection to the district remains much the same.
As it celebrates nine decades in Beerwah, the Co-op is looking to the future, with new opportunities, new customers and another generation of staff continuing a story that began with a handful of local farmers in September 1936.
