Coolayla

Known as the “Town that Saved Queensland”, Gympie’s  heritage began with the discovery of gold by prospector James Nash. At the time, Queensland was facing bankruptcy due to drought and the fall in wool prices. Nash dug up 75 ounces of gold in six days and staked his claim. The Gympie Gold Rush was on.

You can relive the tradition that has given Gympie its special place in history. At the Gold Mining Museum, displays covering the gold rush days are mingled with exhibits such as the Lighthorse Museum and Andrew Fisher House to provide an outstanding range of cultural as well as historical exhibits.

Other attractions such as the Mary Valley Heritage Railway and Woodworks Forestry and Timber Museum provide outstanding links to the region’s railway and timber history.

The city’s heart is Mary Street, a fantastic blend of shopping, heritage and nearby parkland that combines the activity of a regional centre with the relaxed, carefree experience of a holiday.

Take a heritage walk past traditional shopfronts as well as excellent examples of 19th Century architecture. Or stroll to a coffee shop and take in the casual atmosphere that seems to be lost in the modern era.

Gympie has many parks and gardens. These are not only great places to relax but also serve as home to much of the wildlife in area.

Ducks and geese abound in at least four different locations several colloquially referred to as the duck ponds.

Gympie – a fabulous place to live.

To the south west of Gympie lies the very picturesque Mary Valley named after the Mary River which runs through its heart. The rural townships of Dagun, Amamoor, Kandanga, Kenilworth, Conondale, Crystal Waters, and Imbil all sit within the area known as the Mary Valley and can be visited by car or by the very popular Mary Valley Rattler steam train.
 
The Mary Valley is renown for its scenic beauty and wide open spaces, lush pasture land and state forest. The area is ideal for horse riding, camping, canoe trips on Borumba Dam and the Yabba River, bush walking, fishing and water skiing.
 
The Mary Valley provides many opportunities to sample local produce at the farm gate or through boutique wineries and cafes. The Mary Valley is also home to bellbirds, platypus and rare tortoises and is the perfect destination to enjoy scenic lookouts and country atmosphere.
 
The Mary Valley Rattler takes passengers on scenic half day and full day trips. The steam train makes extended stops at all stations along the way to enable passengers to visit the local areas and sample some of the local produce. Those taking the full day trip will also experience a re-enactment of a train robbery.
 
Amamoor is renown for the annual National Country Music Muster that is possibly only rivaled by the national Country Music awards held in Tamworth each year. The National Country Music Muster brings together Australia’s top musicians from many different music styles.
 
Unfortunately the Mary Valley will soon see a large part of it under water as a dam is built to supply water to the South East corner of Queensland. The area to be damned lies along the Mary River from Traveston to the south west. The area may soon see demonstrations similar to other areas of Australia during construction of dams similar to this one.

Gympie lies about 40 minutes drive from the coast. The coastal area is known as the Cooloola Coast and encompasses Rainbow Beach, Cooloola Cove and Tin Can Bay.Tin Can Bay

Tin Can Bay is actually a taken from the Aboriginal word, Tuncanbar, which means Sea Cow (there once where an abundance of dugongs in the waterways).

Tin Can Bay is known as a fishing and boating paradise and also for the rare indo-pacific dolphins which frequent the area. Tin Can Bay is one of only three places in Australia where hand feeding of dolphins in their natural state is allowed.

Tin Can Bay is a very sheltered area just south east of Fraser Island. Fraser Island provides a degree of protection to the area from some of the storms that hit the east coast.

Tin Can Bay has only a small population, however the population quadruples during the peak holiday periods, particularly those with boats who are looking to do a spot of fishing. One of the feature attractions each year is the Sea Food Festival.

Rainbow Beach

To south of Tin Can Bay lies the busy seaside town of Rainbow Beach. Where Tin Can Bay is fairly quite and relaxed, Rainbow Beach is busy and full of tourists. Rainbow Beach has several claims to fame. First, it is named for the colored sand cliffs that line the beach. Rainbow Beach is also one of the access point for those visiting Fraser Island. Rainbow Beach is also novel as it is one of the few places in the world where the beach itself is actually a declared road. The beach road connects Rainbow Beach with the Noosa district on the Sunshine Coast.

Between Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach lies Cooloola Cove. A beatiful almost untouched stretch of coastline and beaches. Cooloola Cove is only now starting to grow as a popular residential area being only 30 minutes from Gympie, 10 minutes from Tin Can Bay and 20 minutes from Rainbow Beach – the best of all worlds.

As a footnote – many thanks to all who have left messages – for some reason they were all put into a moderation queue and the theme didn’t notify me. That has been fixed – again many thanks.

About CoolAyla

I live in a smallish town in South East Queensland (Australia) called Gympie, the main center of the Cooloola Coast. My eldest daughters name is Ayla. Put the two together and you get a very Cool Ayla – or CoolAlya.

About Cooloola

Gympie is one of the historical towns in Queensland. In fact Gympie has the reputation of being the town that saved Queensland from going bankrupt. What saved Queensland – why of course the one thing that sparked a boom in many nations during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries – Gold.

In 1867 James Nash was prospecting in the area when he found 2.7kg of gold in six days. Nash’s discovery began a gold rush which quickly led to the development of Gympie.

Discovered in Gympie, the famous Curtis Nugget, which weighed 37kg, was the largest ever single nugget found in Queensland. The area was profitable for many years, and although the gold fields peaked in 1903 reef-mining continued until the 1920s. Gold is still being mined today although on a greatly reduced basis.

Gympie is completely surrounded by the Cooloola Coast region, so it is also the turn off point for Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay and the Cooloola National Park. I will write more about the surrounding areas in future posts.

Gympie is also famous for the Mary River which is one of the few rivers in Australia to actually flow to the north. Almost all rivers in Australia flow in a generally southerly direction. The Mary River travels through Gympie and heads north to Maryborough where it then head down towards the ocean.

Gympie is approximately 2 hours drive north of Brisbane and approximately 40 minutes drive from the coastal township of Tin Can Bay. If you ever get the chance to visit Queensland then take the time to visit the Cooloola Coast – it is a friendly place with heaps to see and do.