The town is located on the banks of the upper Mary River, 114 kilometres (71 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane.

On 6 October 1851, pastoralist Donald Tuach McKenzie took up a pastoral run, which he named Conondale after hist birthplace on the Conon River in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland.

However, the butter factory never operated and the building was later demolished, with the timbers used for the construction of a house at Moffat Beach.

[18] The Sunshine Coast Regional Council operates a mobile library service which visits the school on Maleny-Kenilworth Road.

It features a motocross circuit used by the Sunshine Coast Motorcycle Club for both local and wider competitions.