A Glimpse of Gympie History and Heritage
Introduction
Our Glimpse of Gympie History and Heritage overviews present-day Gympie discusses important early industries, showcases selected heritage-listed buildings, profiles famous citizens, and describes the role of the railways.
Gympie
Gympie is the quiet achiever of South East Queensland. It overcame its chaotic beginning amid a gold rush and the isolation caused by limited access to a port (Maryborough) and the state capital (Brisbane). Furthermore, Gympie diversified its industry base into timber, dairying and fruit growing. Moreover, Gympie’s resilience means it is now a busy hub within the Wide Bay-Burnett region for industry, tourism and local government administration.
Gympie achieves its progress without forgetting its past. It maintains and refurbishes its building heritage, and remembers the contribution of its citizens to the Australian war efforts through an impressive memorial lane of murals. Furthermore, Gympie honours the contribution of its famous citizens and maintains museums to educate its citizens and tourists alike about the positive impacts of the gold, timber, dairying and fruit growing industries. In addition, the Gympie council has financed the reinvigoration of the Mary River Branch Railway and its “Rattler” tourism initiative.
Gympie is a small city (population 21,000) 176km north of Brisbane in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of South East Queensland established following the discovery of gold in 1867. This discovery was a significant event in the life of a young and financially vulnerable State of Queensland. Gympie continues to flourish and today it is a local government administrative centre for the Mary River Valley and Cooloola Coast (population 52,000).
Our Gympie eBook
A current profile of Gympie based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics is provided. Furthermore, we discuss:
- Gympie’s population growth since the gold rush days,
- The impact of floods on the city over its life,
- the role of music from its earliest days to present, and
- the prominence of its war memorials, especially the Memorial Lane of Murals are also considered.
Prominent early industries
The significance of gold in Gympie’s past is acknowledged and its impact is considered. James Nash, who made the famous discovery, is profiled. However, Gympie survives because it transitioned from its dependence on gold to successfully develop other financially successful industries. We discuss these vital industries, namely: the timber, dairying, and fruit growing.
Selected heritage-listed buildings
Gympie’s respect for its history and heritage, especially for the facades of its Queensland heritage-listed buildings is a standout feature of the city. These buildings are a focus of our book. In fact, we present 31 colour photographs of present-day Gympie, 20 of which are heritage-listed structures. Of these, we select and describe 11 heritage-listed buildings in detail.
Chosen Famous citizens
Profiles of selected famous citizens are presented:
- Andrew Fisher, a Prime Minister of Australia,
- James Nash, who discovered gold in 1867,
- the Lynch sisters, prominent in the timber industry, and
- Hugo du Rietz, a prominent citizen responsible for four of the buildings displayed in our book.
The Railways
The railways underpinned the growth of Gympie from the 1880s for more than 100 years. First, it was the line from Gympie to the port of Maryborough, then the line from Gympie to the state capital, and finally, the Mary Valley branch line was constructed. We take a closer look at the role of the railways in Gympie’s development.
If its past endeavour is a predictor of what is to come, then Gympie’s future is assured.
eBook availability
A Glimpse of Gympie History and Heritage can be found at:
Amazon (Kindle US), Amazon (Kindle UK), Amazon (Kindle AU), and Amazon (Kindle CA)
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Printed copy available on Blurb:
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