Many Australians see tropical cyclones as a northern phenomenon — storms that belong to Cairns, Townsville, or the Kimberley. Yet, the Fraser Coast, stretching from Fraser Island through Hervey Bay to Maryborough, has long been within their path. Cyclones are not uncommon visitors here. In fact, they have shaped our coast, forests and local stories.
A forgotten history – cyclones on the Fraser Coast Read More »
Life on Fraser Island was very isolated and lonely before access improved with combustion engines, regular flights, and ferries to transport cars and trucks. Communication was only by boat, telephone, radio, and aeroplane. In the case of accidents, help was six hours away by boat in Maryborough.
The first breakthroughs in communication came with the spread of telegraph technology.
Early communication on the island Read More »
In the years leading up to Queensland’s separation from New South Wales in 1859, the political mood across the continent’s northern reaches was restless yet hopeful. From the sunbaked cattle runs of the Darling Downs to the pine-timbered ridges around Moreton Bay, there was a low murmur that grew louder. Why should decisions for the north be made from distant Sydney?
Lighting the way – the fledgling colony’s early beacon Read More »
Nations are not built by those who sit down and ask for doles or alms, but by the daring and the bold. They are not built by the timid, but by the dauntless and adventurous.
Maryborough was truly an essential industrial city in Queensland’s early history. It served as a pivotal distribution centre that supported three major industries: agriculture, manufacturing, and timber.
The engineering giant that helped build Queensland Read More »
At 9.00 pm that night, it came bucketing down nonstop. It was so loud that it was hard to hear anything. By 11.00 pm, I thought it was pointless to go to bed and looked outside to check this downpour, with thunder rumbling and lightning flashing around us.
A resident describing conditions in Gympie on Friday night, 25 February 2022.
A rain bomb hits Gympie and surrounding districts Read More »
Early trade in Maryborough
The port of Maryborough on the Mary River was significant, not only for the development of Maryborough itself but also for trade in south-east Queensland. It exported gold, hides, tallow, refined and raw sugar, rum, antimony and timber. Also, after the separation of the colony from New South Wales in 1859, Maryborough was declared a port of entry and necessitated the collection of customs on behalf of the government.
Another birthday for Hervey Bay’s jewel attraction Read More »
As we travelled around Australia, I was amazed at how many towns we came across that had shifted for whatever reason. While I already knew about a few, I had no idea many towns were forced to move.
Probably one of the best-known is Eucla on the Nullarbor Plain. The Eucla Telegraph Station opened in 1877 and helped link Western Australia with the rest of Australia and the world.… Read more
The big shift – towns that have moved in Australia Read More »
