Discover History

 The Fraser Coast is unashamedly proud of its heritage - and rightly so.  The Butchella Aborigines first made their home on Fraser Island almost 600,000 years ago. 

Captain Cook sailed its coast in 1770, while discovery honours fall to Matthew Flinders who arrived to map the area in 1799.  Maryborough is one of Queensland's oldest cities and was a major port of immigration in the lead up to Federation

  

 The Fraser Coast's fascinating history lives on in the region's colonial buildings and old Queenslander homes, heritage streetscapes and its remarkable collection of museums.

You can follow a trail around the Fraser Coast's museums, which includes details on the region's impressive range of museums and historical collections.

 

  old timers

Portside is a must do for those wanting to relive Australia's early years.  Situated on the site of the once thriving Maryborough wharves,  Portside is an exceptional heritage precinct with sensational parklands, museums, restaurants, an art gallery,  public art displays and  historic pubs.

Other ways to discover history include:

  • Take a Walk and Drive tour around the stunning heritage architecture on display in Maryborough.
  • Tour the Original Maryborough Site. It is one of the few original township sites in Australia left intact, where pioneer graves help create a lingering sense of history.
  • Trace your family history at the Heritage Centre in Richmond Street.
  • Step into the past at the Hervey Bay Historical Village and Museum at Scarness and the Burrum District Museum, Burrum Street, Howard.
  • The Matthew Flinders Memorial in Dayman Park, Urangan, marks the place where Flinders embarked from the HMS Norfolk on 6 August 1799 to map the area of Hervey Bay. Flinders was the first European to discover
    that Fraser Island was not part of the mainland of Hervey Bay, as Captain Cook thought when he sailed the coast in 1770.
  • Urangan is also the home of the Krait Memorial, a WWII monument to Z-Force who used an old Japanese fish carrier, which they called Krait, to get into Singapore Harbour where they attached mines to Japanese vessels. Z-Force trained on Fraser Island and in the Bay area before departing for Singapore.
  • Polsen Cemetery at Point Vernon was named after the Maryborough businessman who once owned large areas of land at Point Vernon and is buried at the cemetery.  Another feature is the South Sea Islander Memorial which honours the “kanakas” who were “black birded” or captured and sent to work in the region’s sugar cane plantations.
  • Howard has a number of quaint old buildings, including Van Cooten’s, an old time working drapery store, a historic post offi ce and the homes  of former Prime Minister Andrew Fisher and Dame Annabelle Rankin.
    Dame Rankin was the State’s first female Senator and it is possible to enjoy a Devonshire tea and take a tour of her former home, Brooklyn House.

 

 

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