Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This charming old country town is also the birthplace of Pamela Lyndon ('PL') Travers,
creator of the umbrella-wielding Mary Poppins. The award-winning film
Saving Mr
Banks
tells Travers' story, with early-1900s Maryborough in a starring role.
Sights
Portside
(101 Wharf St; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat & Sun)
In the historic area beside the Mary River,
Portside has 13 heritage-listed buildings, parklands and museums. Today's tidy colonial-
era buildings and landscaped gardens paint a different story from Maryborough's once-
thriving port and seedy streets filled with sailors, ruffians, brothels and opium dens. The
Portside Centre
( 07-4190 5730; cnr Wharf & Richmond Sts; 10am-4pm)
, located in the former
Cus-
toms House
, has interactive displays on Maryborough's history. Part of the centre but a few
doors down, the
Bond Store Museum
also highlights key periods in Maryborough's history.
Downstairs is the original packed-earth floor and even some liquor barrels from 1864.
HISTORIC SITE
Mary Poppins Statue
On the street in front of the neoclassical
former Union Bank
(birthplace of Mary Poppins cre-
ator, PL Travers) is a life-size statue of the acerbic character Travers created rather than
the saccharine Disney version.
MONUMENT
Brennan & Geraghty's Store
(64 Lennox St; adult/family $5.50/13; 10am-3pm)
This National Trust-classified store traded for
100 years before closing its doors. The museum is crammed with tins, bottles and packets,
including early Vegemite jars and curry powder from the 1890s.
MUSEUM
Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum
( 07-4123 5900;
www.maryboroughmuseum.org
; 106 Wharf St; adult/couple/family $5/8/10; 9am-3pm)
Check out the only surviving three-wheeler Girling car, originally built in London in
1911. There's also a replica Cobb & Co coach and one of the largest military libraries in
Australia.
MUSEUM
Queens Park
With a profusion of glorious trees, including a banyan fig that's more than 140 years old,
this is a pleasant spot for a picnic.
PARK
