Just a 25-minute drive from our park and a great day trip once you’re tired of all the relaxation at Poona Holiday Park, Maryborough is a great place to spend the day looking around.
Having a fun-filled day out in Maryborough is easy with this list of things to do in Maryborough. There’s something for everyone, from taking the kids to see the koalas or visiting the beautiful Botanical Gardens or war museum.
There are many amazing things to do in and around Maryborough, a beautiful historical Queensland town. The beautiful town is located just five hours north of Brisbane and thirty minutes from the Fraser Coast’s popular gem, Hervey Bay. Enjoy the historic town by simply walking around it and observing some of the wonderfully preserved structures from the 1800s.
1. The Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary
This incredible wildlife sanctuary is located just outside of Maryborough and has more than 200 Australian animals for you to encounter. You’ll find many native birds, mammals, reptiles, and marsupials in the park’s natural bush habitat.
The Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary is located about 15 minutes south of Maryborough. You can visit the sanctuary six days a week from 10 a.m., and you’ll see a wide range of creatures.
The Wildlife Park is home to many of the country’s native animals. Kangaroos are common visitors, and they may be petted for a photo and many dingoes that call the sanctuary ‘home’. Don’t forget to go food shopping at the sanctuary and hand-feed the kangaroos!
The park also has several wallabies, and if you look closely, you may spot a tiny joey in his mother’s pouch. Finally, get into some “bird chit chat” with the many parrots as they converse with the visitors, or check out one of the Blue Tongue Lizards!
You can also learn about snakes while visiting the sanctuary, where you’ll hear from seasoned snake handlers about what creatures they prey on, what not to do when near a snake and more about their habitats. You may also hold a Black Headed Python IF YOU DARE for those who want to be more adventurous!
This is an experience that animal lovers and young children enjoy, and it’s a beautiful opportunity for everyone to learn about the natural wildlife around us and get up close and personal with a variety of native animals in one location.
2. Queen’s Park Maryborough
The beautiful Queen’s Park is located amid historical Maryborough and is surrounded by lush, green lawns!
Within this well-manicured park are a variety of plants, trees, flowers, and other memorial constructions. The Queens Park was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992 and has since been recognized as a site of national significance.
The Duncan Chapman statue can be found on the sacred ground. On April 25th, 2015, the statue’s unveiling occurred at Queens Park in memory of Lieutenant Duncan Chapman, who was honored as Gallipoli’s initial man to step onto the beach in 1915. He served with the 45th Battalion and was born and raised in Maryborough during the late 1800s era; he tragically died while serving his country in 1916.
At Queens Park in November of 1922, a war memorial was also erected, and this marble and granite tower is dedicated to the 100 local men who died during the First World War as well as to the 55 additional local males who perished so that we might continue to live our lives.
If you’re passing through Maryborough and want to see not just the history within but also how this garden has been for your enjoyment, this park is well worth a stop.
3. Maryborough Markets
Like all friendly regional towns, the city of Maryborough has a thriving local market that fills the air with colours, smells, and tastes every week. Adelaide Street is closed to traffic each Thursday from 7 am to 12 pm in the town center as it transforms into a buzzing outdoor market with live music and 120+ stalls. Since 1987, it’s been a weekly party that offers Maryborough residents fresh and tasty produce from surrounding Fraser Coast and farther afield.
There’s plenty for everyone at this market, with roughly 120 stalls including food vendors, handmade goods, home cooking, crafts and jewelry stores, apparel, and books.
The town crier sometimes appears at the market, and if you remain until mid-afternoon, he’ll fire the old cannon, which is incredible to observe while strolling the streets.
Visitors can spend the day doing anything they want, including participating in a Heritage walk (guided tour) to the City Hall at 9 a.m., or take a ride on the ‘Mary Ann,’ an original steam train that leaves from the riverfront.
4. Maryborough Military And Colonial Museum
This museum provides a glance back in time and pays respects to those who fought in the wars. You can visit this fantastic enhancement to Maryborough and browse through the highly unusual collectibles of over 7,000 memorabilia items dating from the colonial era. It is open six days a week.
You’ll be astonished at how many medals are available for viewing in the museum, and you’ll see that roughly 2,000 books dating back to the military and colonial period. Hundreds of family letters to soldiers who fought in the conflicts and hundreds of correspondence from families back home address their loved ones who went to war
The Museum is preserving and maintaining so many wartime monuments that tell moving stories of soldiers’ lives on the front, as well as the lives of families who were waiting anxiously at home.
The Museum is a must-see!
5. Bond Store & Portside Precinct in Maryborough
Take a trip to Portside for a unique overview of the colonial era. There are approximately 13 heritage-listed buildings now museums, restaurants, and galleries at the Portside Historial Precinct.
The Bond Museum is a fascinating place to begin your sightseeing. The Bond Museum is a fascinating place to begin your sightseeing. Discover a period when opium transformed into a legal import and the rum trade grew on the earthen flooring of this former customs station. The oldest portion of the structure dates from 1864 and still has distinctive flooring, barrel rails, and homemade bricks. It provided comfortable storage for items that attracted a tax, including opium, rum, spirits, wine, tobacco, and cigars.
Today the Bond Store has been reinvented as a store for regional produce and houses fascinating displays and artifacts documenting Maryborough’s Portside history. You can sample a range of delicious regional ports and liqueurs in the authentic surrounds of the Bond Store. In addition, a small provedore on-site provides a range of regional produce and products for sale. So step back in time and experience the former Maryborough Bond Store and learn about Maryborough’s fascinating past.
You can purchase a portside pass to visit all museums and precincts!
6. Poona National Park
The Poona National Park is a great place to spot Australian wildlife without venturing out of the town and into Poona. The National Park sits on 60 hectares of land and makes for an easy escape out into nature, where you can observe native birds, lizards, snakes, and insects and explore numerous tracks and experiences while also enjoying some spectacular views that overlook Hervey Bay.
This national park was once used as farmland but became home to many different species after farmers stopped working here and left it abandoned; today, it runs along Yabba Creek, among other things like mangroves which make up part of the ecosystem of this beautiful location. You’ll find walking trails through gum trees, eucalyptus forests, banksia woodlands with wildflowers growing during the springtime (September to November).
The National Park is located just 6km out of Maryborough.
Although camping is not permitted in this parkland, fishing is allowed, and most people enjoy visiting this park to discover the various flora and fauna or to see the many animals and insects that call this peaceful place “home.” Kalah Creek is a sight you shouldn’t pass up; since it’s where the freshwater comes from, and folks like to drop a line in here to see what they can catch.
Keep in mind when going to the Poona National Park that there are no bins available, and you should leave the park as you find it.
Final Words
Whether you live in the Fraser Coast region or are just passing through, any of these places would make a fantastic holiday spot for your family. These family-friendly places and activities will allow you to get up close and personal with nature and history while having a good time.
Book Now if you’re keen to visit and need somewhere relaxing to stay. We provide comfort and convenience to make your stay more pleasurable near Maryborough.
