MARYBOROUGH AUSTRALIA
MARYBOROUGH AUSTRALIA
The Heritage Market Day held every Thursday, incorporates the firing of the "Time Cannon" at 1pm, supervised by the Town Crier and "Mary Heritage", the City's Ambassadors who epitomise the grace and elegance of a time gone by.
The Heritage Markets offer a range of goods as varied as the number of stalls, from arts and crafts to homemade baked goods and fresh produce with a host of colourful characters, entertainment and fun for the whole family.
Also open on Market Day is the Olds Engine House, a collection of famous models by one of Australia's foremost model engineers, William Olds (1890-1977). The engineering works and foundry, still operating, has a reputation for variety and quality and is fascinating for visitors of all ages. Every Thursday, the test boiler provides steam to operate a restored steam engine powering some of the plant.
The
Maryborough Sugar Museum is housed beside the sugar mill site, on
the banks of the Mary River, and is open to visitors on weekday
afternoons.
The Woocoo Historical Society Museum at Brooweena, 50km west of
Maryborough, is a mosiac of life in the area as it once was. Inside,
past the
massive Aboriginal rock carvings which flank the front steps, daily
life in peace
and war, schooling, recreation, and working life are all depicted.
The museum is open Sunday afternoons or by appointment.
A visit to Maryborough often provides the inspiration to trace a family history, and the Maryborough Family Heritage Institute actively helps visitors trace their ancestry. It is also there to help trace the history of buildings, war veterans or railway construction, or help organise family or immigrant ship reunions.
Take time to stop and feed the black swans at Ululah Lagoon, near the site of the first township, or smell the roses in Elizabeth Park. Queens Park was established more than a century ago, and features a fernery, waterfall, lily pond, and lace-trimmed band rotunda. On the last Sunday of each month, the model railway, built by the Model Engineers and Live Steamers Association, relives the steam age in Queens Park.
The city comes alive for the Maryborough Heritage City Festival, held each year in the first week of September, and the Maryborough Masters Games, held on the first weekend of each October, featuring a multitude of sporting events.
Once the lifeblood of the town, the Mary River still has much to offer as a haven for pleasure craft, a source of excellent freshwater fishing and is a beautiful backdrop for a lovely city.
Today Maryborough is a city of charm and serenity, proud of its colourful and fascinating history, keeping alive its history through its magnificent buildings, gracious old parks and monuments, and the friendliness of its people.
