New book highlights valuable work of Progress Association

Eve Curtis
Eve Curtis

THE Great Sewerage Debate, the proposed cableway and the Canungra Raceway are just a few of the battles fought by Tamborine Progress Association over its 110 years, documented for the first time in a new book.

Tamborine Mountain Progress Association 1915-2023 is the work of Eve Curtis, whose husband’s uncle, William Curtis, was one of the three founders.

When the TMPA had to close in 2023 she felt it was important to record their work for posterity.

Canungra Law

Eve recalled how the original members would meet monthly on the first Saturday nearest the full moon. 

“There were no cars or roads – only bridle paths through the rainforest connecting one farm to another,” she explained.

“When they went out to a night meeting, they needed to be able to walk or ride a horse carrying a hurricane lantern.”

Their aim, she said, was to help the people of the mountain in whatever way was needed, which meant facilitating contact with the Tambourine Shire Council.

It is thanks to TMPA that the first road up the mountain from Tamborine Village was built in 1924.

Eve became involved in 1958 when TMPA gathered to complete the road to Coomera.

She later became the editor of Tamborine Mountain News, reporting the work of the TMPA.

The book documents the history of TMPA, including the purchase of the Zamia Theatre and Tamborine Mountain News, the development control plans of the Councils and a record of the numerous court cases fought.

She believes TMPA was vital to preserving the abundance of flora and fauna and the unique environment on the mountain and this work is continuing through the Tamborine Mountain Preservation Association.

“There are occasions when developers don’t take into account the fact there is no reticulated water or sewerage on the mountain and they’d like council to pass a development application not at all suitable for such conditions,” Eve stated.

She believes the fact there’s no big plastic dome opposite the show grounds, no double road to the dump and no racetrack is a testament to the work of the TMPA.

However, she noted it’s getting harder to fight as developers are becoming more determined to develop at any cost.

“The population has grown exponentially already and yet the mountain is still beautiful, still a lovely place to live and a good community and with the help of a good council we can only try to keep it that way,” she said.