Author: Robert Chase

Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum is regarded as one of the best community museums in Australia, with thousands of items of military and colonial memorabilia.

It is located in a beautifully restored heritage-listed building in the heart of Portside, Maryborough’s original port district. The museum covers three levels, with only the ground floor being wheelchair accessible.

The unusual, the quirky and eclectic are amongst 7,000 items of military and colonial memorabilia, which form displays of exceptional quality at the Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum.

There is an extensive Navy, Army and Air Force display, including a Victoria Cross, a Cross of Valour, and many other significant medals. There are also uniforms, historic vehicles, scale models, murals, wood sculptures and a 2,000 book research library.

Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum
106 Wharf Street, Maryborough.

Open 7 days:
Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3.30pm
Saturday and Sunday 9.30am to 12.30pm
Closed Public holidays

Much more information on the Maryborough Museum’s website…

The Brooweena Historical Village provides a fascinating glimpse of the past with its tranquil rural setting in the centre of the township of Brooweena, 47 kilometres north of Maryborough.

This area was first settled by Europeans in 1849 and the town developed with the arrival of the railway line in 1889. The local sawmill opened in 1924 and closed in November 2013. Sugar production is also a major industry.

In 1892 the first shop was built in the township, followed by the staionmaster’s cottage. In 1915 the Woocoo Shire Office was built and is now housed in the complex.

This charming historical village at Brooweena has an extensive array of memorabilia, equipment, musical instruments and aboriginal rock carvings, housed in a collection of 12 heritage buildings in a tranquil bush setting.

The complex includes blacksmith’s shop, butcher shop, wash house, original 1915 Council Office and an authentic rustic barn with a collection of bullock and horse drawn vehicles.

There is an original settler’s slab dwelling with detached kitchen, dairy shed, former C.W.A. rooms, an old railway goods shed, railway station and old carriage, along with a school and church display. There are also catering and picnic areas.

Open on the second and fourth Sunday of the month from 10am – 3pm (other times by prior arrangement). Consessions are available for group bookings with homemade lunch, morning or afternoon tea.

The Brooweena Historical Village is located on Smith Crescent. Most buildings are wheelchair accessible.…

The museum houses a collection of more than 8,000 historical items – including authentic furnishings, household items and clothing, along with the wagons of early settlers and machinery used in Hervey Bay’s sugar cane industry.

There are 19 original buildings spread across three acres at the complex, including a faithfully furnished slab hut from 1898, a complete railway station, century old church, fully equipped blacksmith shop and dairy shed and the old Dundowran State School.

Blacksmith, woodturning, corn shelling and rope making demonstrations on Sundays from 1pm to 3pm.

Hervey Bay Historical Village and Museum
13 Zephyr Street
Scarness

Opening Hours
Friday and Saturday from 1pm – 4.30pm
Sundays from 10.30am – 4.30pm
All Queensland School and Public Holidays
(Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday)

More information on museum website.…

Take a step back in time and see beautiful antique dolls and toys from the 1800s, including clockwork toys, unusual salt and pepper sets and a rare Holden Pedal Car made in 1944.

Dolls and toys are housed in a special cottage in Grand Shirl’s back yard.

There are hundreds of items on display, including a collection of beautiful french dolls – all waiting to welcome you.

Grand Shirl’s Doll and Toy Museum.
Specialising in antique dolls and toys – buying and selling.

123 Walker Street.
Maryborough.

Open: Sunday 9.30am to 4pm (other times by appointment)…

The centre reflects the history of Maryborough as a thriving river port in the early days of Queensland. The Federation style building, built in 1900, was Maryborough’s second Customs House. It remained a Customs House until 1988 and opened as an interpretive centre in 2001.

Inside you will discover the history of Maryborough’s pioneering industries and explore the incredible ‘cabinet of curiosities’, displays of artefacts from the Original Maryborough Town site and a room inspired by PL Travers (author of Mary Poppins).

Just a few doors away from the Interpretive Centre is one of the largest museum collections celebrating this early history and one of the city’s oldest buildings, the Bond Store Museum.

Walk through the Bond Store, and you’re stepping on history. The earthen floor and ancient handmade bricks in the original 1864 building downstairs still exist, as do many of the liquor barrels left over from that time.

Interpretive Centre and Bond Store
101 Wharf Street
Maryborough

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 3.30pm
Saturday and Sunday: 9.30am to 12.30pm (excluding some public holidays)…

Mount Bauple is geographically situated in the centre of what was the Shire of Tiaro. It is a dominant landmark visible from all over the shire, and beyond.

The Bauple museum is set within colourful gardens and houses a treasure trove of memorabilia including old photographs, family histories, war records, a rare coin collection and an extensive display of telephones, antiques and collectables dating back more than a century.

Of special interest is a crocodile skin from a large reptile shot in the Mary River near Owanyilla in 1964 and a 1907 locomotive. The well kept gardens have free BBQs and picnic tables.

The Bauple Heritage Trail

This trail acknowledges the rich historical foundations of the town. The self-guided tour is approximately 3.3 kilometres in length, winding around the township of Bauple. There are 24 signs that indicate where historical buildings once stood.

“The Mount Bauple & District Historical Museum has comprised a list of 24 building sites from when Bauple was first ‘born’. Bauple was a thriving town then with a sugar mill, timber mills, boarding houses and many local businesses.

We have made interpretive signs to be fixed into the ground with an etched picture and a description of the building that was originally there. We hope these interpretive signs make the Bauple Heritage Trail recapture the past as well as acknowledge the rich historic foundations of our town.

The Bauple Heritage Trail is a self-guided tour and our information brochure (located inside the museum) will assist in locating the sites. We believe the tour will be an attraction for tourists and future generations.”

More information on the Mt. Bauple & District Historical Society Cultural Centre and Museum website.…