Gympie Suburb Overview
Gympie is a regional town in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. It is about 160 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River which has periodically caused flooding in the town. Gympie is the administrative centre for the Gympie Region area. At the 2011 census, Gympie had a population of 18,602.
Gympie is famous for its gold field. It contains a number of historic buildings registered on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Gympie’s name derives from the Kabi word “gimpi-gimpi”, which referred to Dendrocnide moroides. The tree has large, round leaves that have similar properties to stinging nettles. The town was previously named Nashville, after James Nash, who discovered gold in the area in 1867. The name was later changed to Gympie in 1868.
Originally settled for grazing purposes, the area became prominent when James Nash reported the discovery of ‘payable’ alluvial gold on 16 October 1867. At the time Queensland was suffering from a severe economic depression and the discovery probably saved the colony from bankruptcy. A memorial fountain was built in Gympie’s Park in honour of Nash’s discovery. This event is still celebrated today during the Gympie Gold Rush Festival, with 10 days of cultural events held in October. Gold mining still plays a role in the area’s fortunes, along with agriculture, timber and tourism. The rapid development of the new settlement was so quick that the streets were laid out in an irregular fashion rather than the grid pattern common to most Queensland towns.
A railway from Maryborough was competed in 1881. The North Coast railway linked Gympie to Brisbane in 1891. A fire brigade was operation in 1900. Official declaration as a town occurred in 1903. In 1953, a powdered milk factory began operations in the town.
Significant floods along the Mary River have caused inundations of the town in 1893, 1955, 1968, 1974, 1989, 1992, 1999 and 2011. The first flood in Gympie was in 1870. Most of the floods occur between December and April and are typically caused by heavy rainfall in the headwaters to the south.
The highest flood ever recorded in Gympie occurred on 2 February 1893 when the river peaked at 25.45 m. Gympie was declared a natural disaster area during the 1999 floods. The river peaked at 21.9 m then.
Numerous highways and roads in and the town which were destroyed or damaged during floods in 2011 will be repaired under Operation Queenslander. This is the name of post flood reconstruction efforts in Queensland.
In March 2012, the Gympie Regional Council decided to spend about $30,000 for a cost benefit analysis on flood mitigation measures.
There are many attractions in and around Gympie. The Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum houses memorabilia from the early gold mining era, as well as displays showcasing military, rural, transport, communications and steam development in Australia. The WoodWorks Museum provides an insight into the timber industry & social history of yesteryear through displays and demonstrations. Features include a large selection of pioneering handtools, 1925 Republic truck, bullock wagons and blacksmith shop.
The Valley Rattler steam train winds its way through the backyards of the southern side of Gympie and then continues west into the scenic Mary Valley where it crosses and then follows the Mary River to negotiate the valley and the Mary’s main tributaries. The tourist train began operations in 1996. It provides a spectacular journey through the valley beginning at the Old Gympie Railway Station in Tozer Street. This station is the original railway station for the track that passed through Gympie in the 1900s gold rush.
Nearby Suburbs
