Sunshine Coast Shopping and Entertainment Guide

Gympie

Located 166 km north of Brisbane, Gympie is the centre of the Mary River Valley agricultural district in which beef cattle and pigs are raised, tropical fruit and vegetables are grown and an active dairy industry operates.

Gold and Mining Museum

The Gold and Mining Museum, complete with Andrew Fisher's House, is set in attractive parklands which are ideal for picnics

The Woodworks Forestry and Timber Museum has to rate as one of the best and most fascinating working museums in Australia. Located on the Bruce Highway

The Gold and Mining Museum is an outstanding folk museum with an interesting range of buildings. One of the highlights is the House of the Scottish Gympie Gold Mines which, remarkably, is the only mining building still standing in Gympie. It is listed by the National Trust.

In the museum grounds is Andrew Fisher's House. Fisher was Australia's first Labor Minister for Trade and Customs. He later became Queensland's first Prime Minister. He was Prime Minister three times in the years leading up to World War I and is credited with the famous declaration of Australia defending the British Empire to her 'last man and last shilling'.

Spread over a number of hectares, distinguished from the road by its reproduction of a Mine Headframe and gantry, and located beside attractive lakes and lawns, the Gold Mining Museum is much more than just another folk museum.

The buildings in the complex range from old school houses to a blacksmith's shop and the displays include an old camera and movie room, a trophy room celebrating Gympie's sporting achievements, and a dairy display. It is open daily from 9.00 am - 5.00 pm and detailed brochures on all the buildings in the complex are provided with each entry ticket. For further details contact (07) 5482 3995

Near the entrance to the park beside the Bruce Highway is a large statue commemorating the gold miners who 'saved Queensland'.

Historic Buildings

There are a number of attractive and historic buildings in the town. The most important would almost certainly be the Court House. The Gympie Court House, on the corner of Channon and King Streets, was designed by the Queensland government architect and built between 1900-1902 at a cost of £6000. It is an attractive and imposing brick building with an impressive corner tower. It is a significant landmark in Gympie.

Australian Hotel at Murphy's Convenience Store (south of the business centre on the old highway). On the front of the building there is a tethering ring for horses which was used when customers arrived at the General Store by horse.

The Australian Hotel, one of the many historic buildings in Gympie, has remained largely unchanged since it was built in 1883. It is things like this which make Gympie one of the most interesting inland towns on the Sugar Coast.