Thursday 17 September 2020

A Long Weekend in Historical Maryborough Queensland

While we may not be able to travel interstate or overseas, we can still travel within our state.  A dear friend was having an art exhibition in beautiful and historical Maryborough recently, so we headed up for the weekend.  We stayed in a waterfront hotel (down the road at Hervey Bay), with views of the marina and bay.  And it rained ... and it rained ... but who cared?  Not us.  We were just happy to be away.



a view from our room

We stayed at Hervey Bay (30 km/19 miles) down the road, and drove back to Maryborough each day.  The whale watching boats were in the marina below us, so we could watch them go out each morning.  


there were Alice in Wonderland figures

Our friend had her exhibition at Gataker's Artspace, which is in the historical part of town.  It is full of lovely old buildings, cafés, river walks, museums and artworks.  A great place to while away some time.


and chandeliers in the local pub 

We had dinner at the Federal Hotel, after the opening night.  It was cold and rainy, but we sat outside - 'cos we're tough:-).  Dinner was a tasty salad and a glass of wine.  


we ate roast veg and halloumi salad


and grilled chicken salad plus a poached egg


there's lots of street art like this

The signal boxes around town are decorated with steampunk/historical art.  So cute, so colourful, so fascinating.


You can visit Mary Poppins at The Story Bank Museum

P. L. Travers, the writer of Mary Poppins, was born in this building, which is now restored and converted to a museum.  Kitsch you ask?  No my dears, it's fun and interesting and full of art.  We loved it!


and take a ride in the lift with me and Mr P.


and zoom up and down the banisters with her


you can eat a sloppy joe here

We ate lunch at Portside Café, overlooking the Mary river.  Known as Moocooboola by the indigenous Kabi people, this river is the home of the endangered QLD Lungfish and the Mary River turtle.  The Port of Maryborough was one of Australia's busiest immigration ports from the 1850s.  It is now a quiet country town but still shows its history in the buildings and museums. 



or a beef and beetroot salad

take a walk and check out beautiful old buildings at Portside


buy yourself some pig at the local butcher

admire the bollards down by the river


view the beautiful old buildings


check out more street art

Is it co-incidence that all those cars are the same?:-)  And check out all those air-con units - like sentinels watching over the car park.  


wander past more street art

Here we have The Match Making Machine by Russell Anderson.  You can find his public art in various towns around Queensland.  He is one of my faves.  Another couple was checking it out too, and mumbled something about: 'You Queenslanders like this sort of thing...?'  We wondered how non-Queenslanders were even there, as our borders were and are still closed!


enjoy a hearty Benny with bacon at Hervey Bay

We had a late breakfast on the Sunday we were leaving, here at Eat at Dan & Steph's (alumni of the tv cooking show My Kitchen Rules).  Fabulous food, a view of the bay, just slightly iffy service.


eat grilled halloumi and corn fritters


head to Hervey Bay and watch the dragon boats head out


and maybe buy a sculpture like I did!

I couldn't help myself, dear readers!  I bought one of our friend's pieces - The Red Queen.  Catherine made a beautiful body of work for this Alice exhibition.  I was in love with all of them.


We had a wonderful weekend here, and will head up again soon to pick up our sculpture when the exhibition ends.  If ever you are here ... spare a day or two to check out this marvellous wee town.


38 comments:

  1. Kitsch can be fun. I love it! And speaking of fun, what a nice trip. I miss trips -- we're still basically stay-at-home. Sounds like a great time -- thanks.

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    1. yes we had a lovely time KR. we are so lucky to be able travel around our state as our covid stats are so good.

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  2. Looks like that you two had a really great weekend, Sherry :-))

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    1. hi angie
      yes we sure did have fun. and we're going again on saturday...

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  3. This looks like a great time. Kudos for purchasing your friends art.

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    1. thanks Anne. you should see our house - full of artworks!

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  4. Looks like you had a great weekend! I was just saying to my husband that I can't wait until we can go for a drive! Doesn't matter where too!

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    1. yes it's a fabulous thing to get out of the house these days marg:)

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  5. Wow that haloumi salad looks amazing! It my favourite cheese, the texture, the flavour. Yum

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  6. What a great weekend Sherry! I agree, it's just nice to be away somewhere that isn't home nowadays. Congratulations on your purchase and I have to say that I love the preponderance of halloumi dishes in this post!

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    1. yes it's fab to go away. thanks - we love the red queen and she sits proudly in our lounge room now. halloumi rules!

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  7. Your travel looks fantastic. We can't really go anywhere at this point.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. we are lucky indeed Mae. it was so nice to get away!

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  8. Love the Alice in Wonderland set. How nice to be out and about!
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. it was lovely amalia. so lucky to be able to get around our lovely state even during covid.

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  9. What fun! And ALL of the food looks so good! That makes the getaway even better!

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    1. hi mimi
      yes we had a grand time and lots of food and fun!

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  10. How wonderful that you could get away! And what fun you had! I am a huge fan of PL Travers - read so many of the books when I was young - and really do enjoy the Disney movies. Most of all, I love that you bight the Red Queen - fantastic piece!

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    1. hi david
      we had such fun going thru the museum - lots of artworks, lots of history, lots of beautiful things to see. yep the red queen is a gorgeous gal!

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  11. Interesting post, Sherry. We had an overnight stay in Maryborough last year and had a wonderful time, walking into the historical part of town. We loved it, and ate at the RSL club, great food and great value. Now I am keen to return to visit the Storybank Museum and stay a couple of days to really check it out. It's wonderful to see a town really embracing its history and cultural heritage. Thanks for sharing this one.

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    1. we loved the story bank museum, and there are several others we didn't have time for. heaps of street art! lovely Queen's Park - green and lush. lots of buildings...

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  12. Also great that you bought one of your friends works, I love the Red Queen.Such a conversation piece.

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    1. oh yes she is a beauty! just got her home today, and she is now proudly sitting in our lounge room!

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  13. Lovely pictures, It is such a great relief to spend a day outside your home, seems like you had enjoyed every moment. Loved reading thru your travel experience, Thank you for sharing it, Sherry!

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  14. Enjoyed reading about your long weekend in Maryborough Sherry. Like you say although we here too can't travel to other regions or overseas we've been doing our very best to travel locally. And help support local businesses by enjoying a coffee or cake here and there.

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    1. thank you unknown. yep it's important to support local.

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  15. Great experience! Thank you for sharing!

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  16. What a wonderful weekend away - Maryborough looks like a lovely little town and now you have a very special "souvenir" to remember your time there. I can't wait for the borders to open and get exploring!

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    1. yes indeed the red queen sits near me looking very regal. the northern nsw border is opening soon; yay we can go to Kingscliff again soon.

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  17. How lovely, and these days it is so nice to get away for a change. Maryborough is such a gorgeous town and you have certainly showed a beautiful but fun side to Maryborough. Thank you for your gorgeous photos.

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    1. thanks merryn. we loved our trip(s) there in recent months. such a cute little town.

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  18. Wow, this sounds like an awesome weekend to get away! Our travel is still pretty much shut down here - I mean technically it is allowed, but we aren't willing to risk it. Laura and I were just saying this morning that we miss venturing out - so I enjoyed doing it virtually thanks to this post! So glad you guys had fun! And that artwork really is quite impressive - I could never make something like that!

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    1. hi david
      yes we're lucky in being able to travel within our state during covid. yes she is a clever artist; i wish i had that talent too.

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  19. I couldn't resist buying the Red Queen either, Sherry! Maryborough looks like a wonderful place to visit. All the art makes it so cute! My favorite pic is of you and Mr. P! Very sweet! :)

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