A Glimpse of Gympie History and Heritage

Gympie is the quiet achiever of South East Queensland. From its chaotic beginning amid a gold rush, to overcoming the isolation caused by limited access to a port (Maryborough) and the state capital (Brisbane), and diversifying its industry base into timber, dairying and fruit growing, Gympie has become a busy hub within the Wide Bay-Burnett region for industry, tourism and local government administration.
Gympie has achieved this progress without forgetting its past, by maintaining and refurbishing its building heritage, remembering the contribution of its citizens to the Australian war efforts through an impressive memorial lane of murals, honouring the contribution of its famous citizens, and maintaining museums to educate its citizens and tourists alike about the positive impacts of the gold, timber, dairying and fruit growing industries. Furthermore, 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. It was established following the discovery of gold in 1867, a significant event in the life of a young and financially vulnerable State of Queensland. Although the gold rush is long gone, Gympie continues to flourish and today is a local government administrative centre for the Mary River Valley and Cooloola Coast (population 52,000).
Our book provides a glimpse of Gympie’s interesting history and heritage.
In our overview of Gympie, we present a current profile based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics, its 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.
The significance of gold in Gympie’s past cannot be avoided. We provide a brief overview of its impact and profile James Nash, who made the famous discovery. Gympie has survived because of its ability to transition from its dependence on gold to successfully develop other financially successful industries. We profile three of these industries, namely: the timber, dairying, and fruit growing that were instrumental in Gympie’s transition.
The standout feature of the city is its respect for its history and heritage, especially for the facades of its Queensland heritage-listed buildings. 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.
We profile four of Gympie’s famous citizens: Andrew Fisher, who rose to become a Prime Minister of Australia; James Nash who discovered gold in 1867; the Lynch sisters who were prominent in the timber industry; and Hugo du Rietz, a prominent citizen who was responsible for four of the buildings displayed in our book.
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, followed by 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 past endeavour is a predictor of what is to come, then Gympie’s future is assured.