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Changing face of Gympie

By Erle Levey

The smell of freshly toasted coffee mixes with the sounds of the historic steam train pulling into the railway station.

The whimsy of antique and secondhand shops are side-by-side with those selling street wear for skateboard or bmx bike riders.

There’s the charm of stopping and catching up with long-time friends or chatting with new acquaintances.

I’m at the top of Caledonian Hill after walking up Mary St and taking a look at Gympie as it unfolds around me.

We are almost 18 months into the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet it has been a time when Gympie’s values have shone through.

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world on its head. Then again, it has also reminded us of the benefits in learning from the past.

There is a country town feel to Gympie of helping each other in tough times. It seems to shine through in mining towns, when they had to rely on each other.

Even today, cars will slow to let you cross the street. People come first.

The climate, as well as the quality of the soil in the Gympie region, enables a huge range of fruits and vegetables and produce to be grown.

When people say that you can grow most things around Gympie they are not kidding.

Although having grown up in a farming community there are fruit and vegetable types I never knew existed.

My father used to tell me that while growing up in the shadow of Mt Tamborine he loved to eat persimmons straight off the tree. Now we have seen the fruit make a comeback and ideally suited to the Gympie region, along with cape gooseberries which was another of his favourites.

It’s a similar story with the more exotic varieties such as dragonfruit, sapota or sapodilla.

The Mary Valley as well as the Cooloola region have really stood up in recent times with the way produce is grown. There is a cleaner, greener image being created following much more use is being made of biodynamic farming practices.

In many cases the produce is being packaged and marketed locally.

Always pick a town with a river to live in, I have been told. A town with a river has a life … flowing water has life.

The Mary River is a vital artery for the Gympie region. Known as Mooraboocoola, Moocooboola and Monoboola by the indigenous people of the region, the river was named Wide Bay River by early European explorers Andrew Petrie and Henry Stuart Russell in 1842.

It was officially renamed in 1847 after Lady Mary Lennox Fitzroy, months before she was tragically killed in a carriage accident.

Lady Mary Lennox was married to Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy who became Governor of New South Wales.

The largest flood on record for Gympie was in February 1893, which peaked at 25.45 metres and covered most of Mary Street with the waterline reaching the vicinity of where the Lady Mary Statue stands today.

It’s an old town, with some deeply rooted connections. If you are in street people will say hello.

There is a courtesy, no matter who you or where you are from. A joy of living here.

People have become aware of the importance of locally grown produce and it is leading to a better lifestyle.

There’s a collective energy - a whole lot of people and businesses are doing bits and pieces.

So what is it in this community that makes it so resilient?

I’m told that when the pioneers came here it was a microcosm of the world.

People came from all over in search of gold but they then learnt about the great soil … Britains, Irish, Germans, Italians, Chinese.

SoMa SoMa Espresso in Mellor St, Gympie. 240721

It was a catchment for really interesting people. And that has continued today.

Gympie is creating an image of integrity, innovation, and hard-working people.

It provides the foundations to help people be their best. That attitude has always been here.

The region has gone through a number of valuable development stages through the past 150 years.

Gold, timber, farming and agriculture have all played their part in adding to Queensland’s economy.

Being a mining town has left a legacy of a community that has had to care for each other.

The memorial to miners at the steps of Calton Hill Park remind us of that.

Soon after gold was discovered by James Nash in 1867, Gympie’s timber history began in earnest.

Then in 1926 the Wide Bay Cooperative Dairy Company, which was located on Tozer St, built one of Australia’s largest butter factories as a reflection of the region’s prominence in dairying.

Through the golden years of mining Gympie had a reputation for a pub on every corner.

Between 1867 and 1900, there were 157 licensed premises, with one map showed more than 70 pubs in Mary St alone, from the foot of Calton Hill to the top of Commissioner’s Hill.

Today we are seeing the transformation of Gympie - from a pub culture to coffee society.

It reflects the fact that through time people have all come from somewhere else to make the region their home.

That hasn’t changed the character of the people.

There are families with deep connections.

People have manners and courtesy. No matter who you are, you are classed as someone.

They are respectful of privacy yet there when you need them.

You can walk to the corner shops, the schools, the parks.

One of the businesses to lead the way with quality food and coffee was Emilia’s in Mary St, run by the Giorno family. Customers would come from far and wide for their coffee.

The business is now trading next door as Vespa Espresso Bar and is part of a significant shift in Gympie’s lifestyle.

Then there’s the enthusiasm and creativity of John O’Brien and Sandra Phoenix at Soma Soma Espresso Cafe.

At the top of the hill in Mellor St and across from the old Gympie Railway Station, it’s a good example of how ingredients are often being sourced fresh and local.

Former Gympie Region food ambassador Matt Golinski remarks how over the past 10-15 years there has been the emergence of farmers markets that give direct access to some of the great seasonal produce from the Mary Valley and Cooloola area.

Landcare has become a prime initiative as people recognise the beauty of the region.

About town there is a new emphasis on sharing those natural attributes with visitors and new arrivals.

At the old railway station, Platform No. 1 Cafe draws its menu from the Mary Valley food bowl.

The station is a mix of nostalgia and street art meets graffiti.

It’s where you catch the restored Mary Valley Rattler, which travels through the rolling hills to Amamoor and return.

There’s the Railway Hotel on the other side of the tracks - and stories from the Second World War of staff dropping food parcels from the overhead footbridge to the carriages filled with troops.

The Australian Hotel is at the top Caledonian Hill, and the Phoenix a little further along Apollonian Vale.

Right in town is the Queensland Hotel with its coffee window servery to the street, then the Royal Hotel on the corner.

The Empire Hotel is another reflection of the past.

Look up at the intricate detail of some of the old buildings - what changes they have been silent sentinels to.

At the top end of town is The Bunker smokehouse and bar. It’s in the cellar of what was formerly the Chambers Hotel and which has been home to The Korner cafe as well as The Decks.

The Bunker is in a location you would not expect, under the old storehouses with oak beams and brick walls.

A walk along Mary St opens up many delights such as The Keen Bean, Panini’s Bakery and Cafe, and the distinctive Hamptons & Harlow coffee cart near the Five Ways intersection.

Then there is the retro feel of The Brown Jug and several hole-in-the-wall outlets attached to pubs or retail outlets.

Recently opened is The Hatch - a shopfront coffee spot with sit-up bench window and a view across Memorial Park.

Not far from that is the old Gympie Swimming Pool with its retro facade, now the home of the Gympie Youth Precinct and Skater Park.

Sitting at Andrew Fisher Memorial Park off Tozer Park Road, you are so far from the crush of suburbia.

It’s a time and a place for self-reflection.

Here, at this tranquil park on the site of Gympie’s first cemetery and to commemorate Australia’s fifth prime minister, I realise Gympie is a community where the newcomers can brush shoulders with the ghosts of its colourful past. Little wonder it is appealing to so many in this ever-changing world.

Fish and chips on Caledonian Hill. 240721

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A month of flower delight

The multi-award-winning Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers (TCOF) will take place for the full month of September!

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Gardening Gurus will love the floral displays at Botanic Gardens at Queens Park and Laurel Bank Park – grab some #trEATS and have a picnic in the petals! tcof.com.au/queens-park/ tcof.com. au/laurel-bank-park/ or maybe join a Twilight Tour of Laurel Bank Park to be guided by one of the lead park garden’s to get to know it more intimately tcof. com.au/twilight-tours-of-laurel-bankpark/ There’s over 190,000 blooms this year!

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The Grand Central Floral Parade is the event that stops the city, with thousands of families lining the streets to watch the colour go by. It will be held on Saturday September 18 with a much earlier start time of 10am, allowing crowds to enjoy a full day shopping, sightseeing and adventuring.

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Cinema Under the Stars is a free community event in the leafy lawns of the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery, with a line-up of classic movies featured. What a fabulous new experience!

ALL MONTH:

·Floral Displays in all parks and public spaces including feature blooms in Queens Park, the Botanic Gardens and Laurel Bank Park, as well as floral chalk art. · #trEATS regional food trail which shines the light on cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs with floral inspired dishes – 36 eateries took part in 2020, with many more flavour-makers expected in 2021. · The famed Talking Pubs tours will be held every Sunday with more to be announced. · The stunning light-filled Night Garden in the Botanic Gardens. · Parkland entertainment featuring local musicians and entertainers. · Twilight Tours in Laurel Bank Park. · The popular dog-friendly Petals and

Pups program. · Guided and non-guided walking tours · Cobb + Co Museum will have a packed program for young and old to discover · Community events, gardening experiences and gardening displays will be happening across the month

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS: September 10 - 12

·The Festival of Food and Wine returns in 2021 to Queens Park, celebrating the best in local produce, flavours and sips. Local and national music makers will star with the full line-up to be announced on Tuesday 1 June 2021. · Parkland Entertainment, Talking

Pubs.

September 17 - 19

·The Grand Central Floral Parade on

Saturday September 18 at 10am. · Side Show Alley in Queens Park returns in a kaleidoscope of colour, crazy and cool! · The much loved Ferris Wheel in the

Botanic Gardens will be open for all ages. · Talking pubs and Foodie Dinners plus

Parkland Entertainment. · *School holidays commence for QLD and NSW.

September 24 - 26

·Cinema Under the Stars at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. · Night Garden, Parkland Entertainment, Talking Pubs, Ferris Wheel.