The best 6 things to do in Maryborough, Queensland

The best things to do in Maryborough, Queensland, include the Maryborough Mural Trail, the Bond Store and the Mary Poppins museum in the Story Bank. For Mary River cruises, go to Hervey Bay.

The best things to do in Maryborough, Queensland, are:

The Maryborough Mural Trail.
The Bond Store Museeum
Brennan and Geraghty’s Store.
The Story Bank.
Queens Park.
Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary.

These attractions are covered in more detail below.

Where is Maryborough, Queensland?

Maryborough, Queensland, is one of the most attractive towns on the Fraser Coast. You’ll pass through it on the Brisbane to Hervey Bay leg of the Brisbane to Cairns drive. But it’s worth venturing off the Bruce Highway to explore further.

Book Maryborough accommodation for from $83 a night.

One of the best things to do in Maryborough, Queensland, is simply amble around. This historic inland port town has a high concentration of Queenslander houses. For the uninitiated, these are high, single-storey, detached wooden houses standing alone on blocks of land, with a veranda wrapping much of the way round.

To give a walk around Maryborough more structure, you can follow the Maryborough Mural Trail, which shows off the town’s large scale street art.

What to do in Maryborough, QLD: Bond Store Museum

If it’s heritage you’re interested in, Maryborough has a collection of mildly interesting museums. The Bond Store is all about Maryborough’s history as a port. There’s plenty of regional produce on sale too, while the displays go into customs, smuggling and the opium trade.

Meanwhile, Brennan and Geraghty’s Store is a National Trust property that essentially shows what ye olde shoppes were like.

Completing the trio of Maryborough museums is the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum. This has plenty of war stories, although the colonial history side of the museum is more interesting to mooch through.

Things to do in Maryborough, QLD: The Story Bank and Mary Poppins

Maryborough’s most appealing museum, however, leans toward literature rather than history. The Story Bank celebrates the life and work of Helen Lyndon Goff, better known as PL Travers.

The creator of Mary Poppins was born in Maryborough, and the Story Bank is just part of the town’s mild Mary Poppins obsession.

There’s a Mary Poppins Statue on the corner of Richmond and Kent Streets, just outside this Mary Poppins museum.

Things to do in Maryborough, QLD: Queens Park and Mary River cruises

A short walk away, next to the Mary River, is Queens Park. This riverside park is both Maryborough’s top picnic spot and a Botanic Gardens. Frustratingly, however, if you want to go on a cruise along the Mary River, you have to do so from nearby Hervey Bay.

Spirit of Hervey Bay usually concentrates on whale-watching cruises from Hervey Bay, but runs day trips down the Mary River outside of whale season. These Mary River cruises cost $80.

Mary River in Maryborough, Queensland. — The Mary River in Maryborough. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland

Maryborough attractions: Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary and Poona National Park

Other things to do in Maryborough require a short drive out of the town. The Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary is a classic Australian wildlife park where you can get up close to native animals.

To the south-west of Maryborough, the Poona National Park is hardly a must-visit and you need a 4WD vehicle to get there.

Still, there’s some decent birdwatching and fishing to be had if you do decide to venture that way.

Other popular spots in Maryborough include the Maryborough RSL, Maryborough Golf Club and the Maryborough speedway. But these are more aimed at locals than tourists searching for Mary Poppins.

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