Maryborough History & Heritage

Introduction

We have produced three books related to Maryborough’s history and heritage. More details are provided about each book in the discussion below. You can skip to each book’s description by selecting the relevant hyperlink below. In the discussion for each book, we identify each book’s availability as an eBook and/or a printed book.

1. Initially, our book titled A Glimpse of Maryborough History & Heritage provides an informative discussion (accompanied by photographs) of Maryborough’s history and heritage.
2. Secondly, our Maryborough Heritage Notebook provides plenty of pages for notes amongst heritage photographs.
3. Thirdly, our Maryborough Heritage – through a lens photobook emphasises Maryborough’s heritage through a mixture of contemporary and historical photographs.

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Maryborough

Maryborough, a city of almost 27,000 people, is located on the Mary River within the Fraser Coast region of Southeast Queensland. It is 255km north of Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane. Coupled with Hervey Bay, Maryborough forms the Fraser Coast Local Government Area. In fact, Maryborough is dominated by Hervey Bay which is twice the size. Together with Gympie and Bundaberg, these two cities are a part of the Wide Bay Burnett Region.

It was the heritage-listed buildings and historical focus which attracted us to the city. The Portside Precinct is at the centre of this project with the “Story Bank” located in the Australian Joint Stock Bank (the birthplace of PL Travers – author of Mary Poppins), the mural and story trails, the “Walk of Achievers”, and the nearby Queen’s Park with its botanical focus, war memorials and restful areas. Not to forget the replica of Queensland’s first steam locomotive – The Mary Ann – which offers tourist rides along the banks of the ever-present Mary River and through Queen’s Park. Remarkably, all these attractions are close to each other and the city centre.

Maryborough experienced its strongest growth in the second half of the 19th century. It was a city with a purpose. It was a port that supported the pastoral industry of its hinterland, the gold mining of Gympie and its own fledgling timber, engineering and sugar industries. The future looked bright. However, it would take the next 100 years of the 20th century to experience the same population growth. Furthermore, during the 21st century to date, Maryborough’s population has not grown appreciably. The timber, engineering and sugar industries have remained during this time however the sugar refinery closed in 2021 placing further pressure on the city to grow.

The Mary River so vital to Maryborough’s early survival and growth has faded as its function as a port has diminished. However, its presence is announced roughly every 10 years with a major flood that inundates the city’s central business district.

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Book 1: A Glimpse of Maryborough History and Heritage

Overview

Our book provides a glimpse of Maryborough’s history and heritage. Central to our book are contemporary photographs and descriptions of 16 heritage buildings. We explore the timber, sugar and engineering industries; delve into Maryborough’s first 20 years, its pioneers, explorers and its Indigenous people; and describe various aspects such as Queens Park, the War Memorials and the Mary Ann replica.

Our Glimpse of Maryborough History and Heritage book provides a glimpse of Maryborough’s interesting history and heritage. At the heart of the book are contemporary photographs and descriptions of 10 general heritage-listed buildings and the six heritage-listed hotels in Maryborough.

We also investigate four topics in detail:

• Consideration of key aspects of Maryborough such as the Port of Maryborough, the Mary River, railways, war memorials, Queens Park and a statistical profile (population, employment, education).

• Discussion of how Maryborough was settled with a focus on the first 20 years and its explorers and pioneers. Our first 20 years for Maryborough extend from Andrew Petrie’s ground-breaking voyage up the Mary River in 1842 until Maryborough was proclaimed a municipality in 1861.
• An account of the trials, tribulations and exploits of the indigenous Butchulla people. We examine the difficulties in researching the indigenous people, the population, early European contact, the frontier wars, government control and reserves, the confronting issue of our time, and recent acknowledgements of the plight of Australia’s indigenous people.
• A brief study of the timber, sugar and engineering industries so important to Maryborough’s survival. These industries have been mainstays of Maryborough since the 1860s and 1870s. We also look at Queensland’s first steam locomotive the Mary Ann and the Mary Ann replica.

Availability

As an eBook

Our Kindle eBook version is available at Amazon (Australia); Amazon (UK); Amazon (US); Amazon (Canada) and other worldwide Amazon sites.

Our EPUB version is available at Apple; Barnes & Noble; Kobo; Odilo; Scribd; Gardners Extended Retail and the Smashwords Store.

As a printed and PDF book

The printed and PDF versions of A Glimpse of Maryborough History & Heritage are available from Blurb. To purchase a copy, just click on the image below.

Our Maryborough Heritage Notebook is a large 6″x9″ (15x23cm) 96-page notebook. Available in Soft and Hardcover with 43 wonderful photographs of the heritage city of Maryborough, Queensland. Maryborough takes pride in maintaining its buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The notebook, which has 43 photographs and 63 lined pages for your notes, has three pages allocated for your personal index making it ideal for bullet journaling or notetaking. What’s more, it is an ideal size for a briefcase or handbag.

This Maryborough Heritage Notebook would make an ideal gift for family or friends who love to keep a journal or takes precious notes. Let them be inspired by the contemporary colour photographs of heritage Maryborough.

Availability

Our Maryborough Heritage Notebook is available as a printed (Softcover or Hardcover) book from Blurb. To purchase a copy, just click on the image below.

Maryborough promotes itself as a heritage city and it was the heritage-listed buildings and historical focus which attracted us to the city. Our photobook provides 45 photographs and related descriptions. The photographs focus on the Queensland heritage-listed buildings; Queens Park with its attractions such as the war memorials, bandstand and close by Mary River; Queensland first steam locomotive the “Mary Ann” and its replica; and the site of the original township.

This photobook that celebrates Maryborough’s heritage would make a fine coffee table book.

The photobook is a standard landscape format (25 by 20 centimetres; 10 by 8 inches).

Availability

Our Maryborough Heritage – through a lens is only available as a softcover printed book or as a PDF from Blurb. To purchase either copy, just click on the image below.

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