Coolayla

The Gympie Gold Mining Museum is on the southern approach to Gympie and covers over 5 hectares. The museum contains over 30 display areas in and around 15 major buildings with entry through a souvenir shop.

Set by a lake, the museum houses memorabilia from Gympie’s early gold mining era , as well as displays showcasing military, rural, transport, communications and steam development in Australia.

The historic goldfields of Gympie date back to the 1800’s and were famous for the so called “Jewellers Shops” zones where gold reefs formed extraordinarily rich veins of visible native gold in quartz rock. In this early time and up to 1924 the area gained particular renown for producing many collectors’ and jewellery specimens.

You could spend hours or even a full day looking through the museum and walking the parkland. Great picnic grounds and BBQ areas surround the museum, the lake is alive with fish and turtles that love the occasional piece of bread thrown into the water.

There’s over 100 years of history to enjoy in the well presented, informative displays which have been designed to entertain adults and children alike.

The site of the Museum is that of the former No2 South Great Eastern Mine (pictured above and left), with some original relics still on site and an operational authentic steam winding engine, compound air compressor and generator reconstructed on the original footings.

You can really take a look back in time and walk through some of the old buildings and displays.

You can discover how people lived in the past by walking through the Bungawatta Hut (left) which was relocated from nearby Tin Can Bay. The hut stands in its’ original style and layout with original furniture and furnishings from the era.

The museum is an eye opening look at how we lived in the past. I wonder how we would have survived with no electricity; no computers, tv or radio; and no refrigeration or telephones.