Today we decided to take a day trip into Maryborough; which is the birthplace of P.L Travers, author of the Mary Poppins books. Her father managed a bank in the building where she was born. This is in the centre of town and still in use, no longer as a bank but as a sales office for a shed company. A life-size bronze statue of Mary Poppins, as P.L. Travers described her, complete with umbrella was erected outside the old bank premises in 2005.
Maryborough was settled in 1847 and is one of Queensland's oldest provincial cities. It was a major immigration port into Australia, and the Wharf Street Precinct still has many reminders of this period. Maryborough is widely recognised for its abundant examples of colonial and Queenslander architecture; with it's majestic public buildings and beautiful gardens. There are beautifully renovated Old Queenslander homes on just about every corner, and the streets are tree lined and have a real charm about them.
Down at the wharf precinct we all jumped aboard the 'Mary Ann' steam train. The Mary Ann is a replica of the first steam engine built in Queensland in 1873 at John Walker and Co's Union Foundry. It steams through the lovely Queen's park along the rail tracks which were laid to service the wharves and along the manicured Mary River parklands.
After lunch which we enjoyed at the old Post Office Hotel, we headed back to the van to escape the afternoon heat. There we watched a DVD and did a heap of craft Christmas presents for family back home. Shane had a drink with two ladies travelling in a Winnebago next to us, and Scarlett and I hit the pool. The weather cooled down for a comfortable evening, where the windows were finally opened and the air-conditioner turned off. You've got to love the tropics!
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