CALLS to “take the Gympie out of Noosa” may have caused more offence than they deserve, according to the man who first announced a suggested change to the name of Noosaville's Gympie Terrace.

Noosaville Association chairman Laurie Stevens said yesterday the idea, which made front page in the Sunshine Coast Daily at the weekend, had been put forward as a suggestion by some association members and the suggestion had been passed on to Noosaville people in a letter.

“Some members suggested it, it went to the committee and we decided to put a letter out to get feedback,” Mr Stevens said yesterday.

“We were told that this was the way to have it considered by council, but after Saturday, they sent an email saying that under no circumstances would the name change actually happen.

“So I'd say it's a dead duck,” he said.

Mr Stevens said members of the public are welcome at the association's annual general meeting on September 9. “The street name issue isn't on the agenda but anyone can raise it in general business if they like,” he said.

Mr Stevens said Noosa “isn't a gold miners' holiday place anymore, it's a vibrant, family oriented tourist area”.

But if Noosa residents are considering changing the name of Gympie Terrace, Noosaville, what do the residents of Noosa Road, Gympie have to say?

Ex-Mayor Mick Venardos was in his Noosa Road backyard yesterday and was not happy about the idea.

“You can't forsake history,” he said, “and it's sad that relative newcomers suggest it on a whim.”

Near neighbour Lionel Shaw, 59, said he fished at Gympie Terrace as a child and his father used to work the fishing boats “probably 60 years ago”.

Surf Lifesaving pioneer Ron Lane, now of Tewantin, said he joined Noosa Surf Club in 1958, at a time when he and his high school mates used to go there on weekends.

“A lot of Gympie people made a big contribution to that area over the years,” he said. Since then he has been the club's chief instructor, captain and president and is now a life member, having also helped Noosa foster the Rainbow Beach surf club.