Gympie's name derives from the Gubbi Gubbi (Aboriginal) word gimpi-gimpi, which means "stinging tree”.
Aboriginal Peoples of Gympie
The Kabi Kabi / Gubbi Gubbi people lived around the majority of Country within the Gympie region local government area. The Wakka Wakka lived in the west of Gympie region. The Butchulla people in the north-east of the Gympie region.
A keen observer and friend of the Gympie Aborigines was Zachariah Skyring who arrived in 1868 at the age of nine or so, wrote:
There was a great fighting and corroboree ground at Mooloo, and several pitched battles were fought there in his time. Early in the seventies there was a big fight between all the Aborigines from Tin Can, Widgee and Gympie district on one side and the Maroochy tribes on the other. Several were wounded but none killed to his remembrance, although they fought for two or three hours.
Several bora rings have been reported in the Mooloolah district. One of these was 2.9 kilometres from the Bruce Highway, at the side of the road connecting Mooloolah to the highway. Although now destroyed, it had an important history as it marked the spot where several tribes used to gather before proceeding via Bald Knob to the Bunya festival. (the Bunya Festival was a time for initiation, trade, sharing customs, passing down stories),
Aboriginal pathways in southeast Queensland and the Richmond River
time of great financial crisis. The
Bank of Queensland had closed its
doors, and tho Government had- been
compelled to suspend the building of
the only railway starting from Ipswich
towards Toowoomba,. causing much
distress. Bands of unemployed were
marching through the streets In Bris
bane, and the Government, eager to
relieve the distress, offered rewards for
tho discovery of a payable goldfield. (1.)
Gympie evolved from a makeshift settlement and alluvial field in late 1867.
So rapidly did Gympie develop, that when the official surveyors arrived in 1868, a substantial amount of the town had already been laid out.
The first court proceedings in Gympie were held by the Gold Commissioner shortly after the influx of miners to the area.
In 1868 a Cobb & Co. service between Brisbane and Gympie began, running twice a week.
The Tattersalls Hotel was one of the first hotel businesses built in 1868,
The first church for religious worship at Gympie was named " The Diggers' Bethel.". (2;)
A Catholic primary school was established in 1868. In the same year, the Wesleyan Methodists erected a bark hut of pole construction on Surface Hill to use as a basic chapel.
In 1869, the Church of England constructed a timber church on the corner of Palantine and School Streets.
The first school opened in Gympie on 20 September 1869.
Gympie Creek Post Office opened on 1 December 1867. But was renamed Gympie in the next year.
1870s
The first recorded flood in Gympie was in 1870.
Gympie was an important regional town and major deep reef gold producer by the 1880s.
Agriculture also became important in the Mary Valley, with maize and potatoes as the dominant early crops, although experimental plantings of tobacco, rice, sugar cane, peas and pineapples were also undertaken.
The first mechanical cream separator was introduced into Queensland in 1882 and this was important to the development of the dairy industry in the Gympie district.
Australian macadamia seeds from Gympie were taken to Hawaii in the 1880s and that country became the world's largest producer.
1890s
Johnny Campbell (1846 – 16 August 1880) was a Kabi bushranger active in South East Queensland, including Gympie. He was hanged in Brisbane Gaol in 1880.
The highest flood ever recorded in Gympie occurred on 2 February 1893.
In 1897, Gympie's first dairy co-operative for butter production, the Gympie Central Dairying Company was established.
1900s
A rail line from Brisbane to Gympie commenced in June 1911 and by 1913, 550 men were working on the project.
1940s and WWII
1950s
In 1952 the Gympie district produced 15 per cent of Queensland's butter,
1960s
In 1964, the new Automatic Telephone Exchange building was opened, adjoining the original Post Office building.
1970s
Gympie's first Gold Festival, held in 1973.
2000s
In February and May 2022 flooding in the region caused significant damage.
 |
| Two Representative Tribes of Queensland, 1910, John Matthew (Gubbi Gubbi people) |
See here
1840s
From 1843, pastoral leases were taken up in the Fraser Coast Region and European settlement of Gympie began soon after.
The Gympie district was part of the large Widgee Widgee pastoral area.
In 1887, 43,000 acres (17,000 ha) of land were resumed from the Widgee Widgee pastoral run for the establishment of small farms.
1850s
A pastoral lease was taken up as Kenilworth Station in 1850.[
Gold was first discovered near Gympie in 1851 by John Carne Bidwill, the first Land Commissioner of Wide Bay.
1860s
The State of Queensland was experiencing a recession, exacerbated by a prolonged drought.
James Nash (1834-1913) found rich gold in 1867 near the Mary River and reported to the police magistrate in Maryborough. Within 6 days, a gold rush commenced and hotels begab operating.
The goldfield was named Nashville, in his honour, hut later changed to Gympie.
The discovery of Gympie came at atime of great financial crisis. The
Bank of Queensland had closed its
doors, and tho Government had- been
compelled to suspend the building of
the only railway starting from Ipswich
towards Toowoomba,. causing much
distress. Bands of unemployed were
marching through the streets In Bris
bane, and the Government, eager to
relieve the distress, offered rewards for
tho discovery of a payable goldfield. (1.)
 |
| James Nash (1834-1913), discoverer of the Gympie goldfield, was born on 5 September 1834 at Beanacre, Wiltshire, England. James Nash met his wife Katherine Murphy at her family’s hotel, the Traveller’s Rest in central Mary Street. Nash invested in business that failed and lost most of the money by the 1880s |
So rapidly did Gympie develop, that when the official surveyors arrived in 1868, a substantial amount of the town had already been laid out.
The first court proceedings in Gympie were held by the Gold Commissioner shortly after the influx of miners to the area.
In 1868 a Cobb & Co. service between Brisbane and Gympie began, running twice a week.
 |
| Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Saturday 3 October 1868 |
 |
| Gympie, c1868. The Brisbane Courier. Friday 9 October 1868. LIFE AT GYMPIE, https://Queensland State Archives |
 |
| Gympie, c1868. The Brisbane Courier. Friday 9 October 1868. LIFE AT GYMPIE, https://Queensland State Archives |
 |
| Early days of Gympie, QLD, Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette |
 |
| Gympie Grammar School, QLD, ca 1868, SLQLD |
 |
| Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Monday 7 September 1868 |
 |
| Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 11 April 1868 |
A Catholic primary school was established in 1868. In the same year, the Wesleyan Methodists erected a bark hut of pole construction on Surface Hill to use as a basic chapel.
In 1869, the Church of England constructed a timber church on the corner of Palantine and School Streets.
The first school opened in Gympie on 20 September 1869.
 |
| Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Tuesday 1 June 1869 (George Charles Frederick Palmer (c. 1846 – 24 November 1869) was an Australian bushranger who operated in Queensland. Palmer was tried, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging) |
 |
| Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 - 1919), Tuesday 5 January 1869 |
 |
| Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 - 1919), Tuesday 5 January 1869 |
 |
| Cobb and Co coach leaving The Australian Hotel Queen Street Brisbane for Gympie, Queensland in 1869, Queensland University of Technology |
1870s
The first recorded flood in Gympie was in 1870.
 |
| Reading the paper in Gympie, QLD, 1871, SLQLD |
 |
| Unidentified residence at Gympie, Queensland, ca. 1871, SLQLD |
 |
| Mothers and their children standing outside a bark house, Gympie, ca. 1872, SLQLD |
 |
| Aboriginal mother holding child at Gympie, QLD, 1870s, Copyright expired ( Aboriginal method of carrying children on the shoulder of who have outgrown infancy, the mother's hands are free to attend to the dilly-bag) |
 |
| Men standing outside the courthouse in Gympie, QLD, 1870, SLQLD |
 |
| View of Mary St, Gympie, QLD, 1870s, Queenslander |
 |
| The Gympie flood, QLD, June 19 1873, Queensland State Archives |
 |
| The Gympie flood, QLD, June 19 1873, Queensland State Archives |
1880s
Land was offered for selection on 17 April 1887. New farms on the western side of the Mary River to the south of Gympie led to the development of roads in the Mary Valley.Gympie was an important regional town and major deep reef gold producer by the 1880s.
Agriculture also became important in the Mary Valley, with maize and potatoes as the dominant early crops, although experimental plantings of tobacco, rice, sugar cane, peas and pineapples were also undertaken.
The first mechanical cream separator was introduced into Queensland in 1882 and this was important to the development of the dairy industry in the Gympie district.
Australian macadamia seeds from Gympie were taken to Hawaii in the 1880s and that country became the world's largest producer.
1890s
Johnny Campbell (1846 – 16 August 1880) was a Kabi bushranger active in South East Queensland, including Gympie. He was hanged in Brisbane Gaol in 1880.
 |
| Noosa Advocate and Cooroora Advertiser |
 |
| Johnny Campbell, Aboriginal outlaw, captured at Tewantin, 1880. |
 |
| Exchange Hotel, Gympie, QLD. North Queensland Register (Townsville, Qld. : 1892 - 1905), Wednesday 21 December 1892 |
 |
| Gold Sluicing, Mary River, near Gympie, c 1896, Queenslandstatearchives |
 |
| Gympie Goldfield (No.2 S.G. Eastern Underground). c 1897, Queenslandstatearchives |
 |
| View of Gympie, c 1897, SLQLD |
 |
| Mary River, Gympie, c 1897, QLD, SLQLD |
 |
| Cootharaba Mill, Gympie Goldfield, QLD, c 1897, Queenslandstatearchives |
 |
| Monkland mine and surroundings, Gympie Goldfield, QLD. c 1897, Queenslandstatearchives |
 |
| MAKY-STREET, GYMPIE, QUEENSLAND., Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 31 July 1897 |
1900s
 |
| Emma and Willie Dunn of the Gympie District, (no date) public domain |
 |
| Scottish Gymoie Gold Mine, QLD, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 7 July 1900 |
 |
| Horse Shoe Bend in Gympie, Qld - very early 1900s, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Tattersall's Hotel, Gympie, Qld - very early 1900s, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| UNDERGROUND WORKINGS IN THE SCOTTISH GYMPIE GOLD-MINING COMPANY: Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 12 January 1901 |
 |
| The Gvmpie Waterworks were designed and carried out by Mr. J. B. Henderson, Hydraulic Engineer to the StateGympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 - 1919), Saturday 6 December 1902 |
 |
| Northumberland Hotel was destroyed by fire on 21st January, 1969. This was the second version of the Northumberland Hotel which was licensed from 14 January 1868.(The Northumberland Hotel in the early 1900's, it was a grand old building that was located across from the old Gympie Police Station) |
 |
| THE COMMITTEE GYMPIE LADIES BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.. Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 - 1919), Saturday 19 December 1903 |
 |
| Gympie Ambulance Station, QLD, Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 - 1919), Saturday 24 December 1904, |
 |
| Gympie, Queensland - 1906, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Afternoon tea in the garden, Gympie, QLD, ca. 1907, SLQLD |
 |
| Hospital in Gympie, Qld - 1908, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Mary Street (south end) Gympie, QLD - 1908, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| View of Gympie Goldfield (from Monkland), Queensland - 1908 Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Church of England in Gympie, Qld - 1909, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Mary Street, Gympie, Qld - circa 1910, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| STREET PARADE PASSING ATLANTIC HOTEL in MARY STREET, GYMPIE, QLD - circa 1910, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Scottish Gympie Gold Mine Company, No.1 Shaft, Gympie, Qld - 1911, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| New Turbo-electrie Generator and two Vertical Compound Air Compressors at the Scottish Gympie Gold Mines, Limited.Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 18 December 1912 |
 |
| Advertising postcard for Newbery and Shambler in Mary Street, Gympie - very early 1911, Aussie Mobs |
WWI
 |
| William Glasgow was born at Tiaro, near Maryborough, Queensland, on 6 June 1876, the fourth child an Irish farmer. He was educated at One Mile State School in Gympie, Queensland, : Australian ArmyYears of service: 1897 - 1919 Rank: Major General Battles/wars: Second Boer War World War I Gallipoli Campaign Western Front Battle of Amiens Second Battle of the Somme Battle of the Hindenburg Line Awards: Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order. Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld |
 |
| Sons of Mrs.. Salmon, Woloi, via Gyrhpie, PTK. C. A. SALMON.PTE. L. SALMON.PTE. T. A. SALMON, GUNNER. II. A. SALMON. Queensland. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 3 October 1917 |
1920s
 |
| Lower Mary Street, Gympie, Qld - looking east - circa 1920, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Central Mary Street, Gympie, Qld - 1920s, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903; 1916 - 1926), Friday 21 April 1922, |
 |
| Gympie Fire Brigade Headquarters, QLD. Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903; 1916 - 1926), Friday 10 March 1922 |
 |
| The last coach built for the Brisbane- Gympie mail and passenger service, Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Wednesday 17 November 1926 |
 |
| Gympie, QLD, Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Friday 2 September 1927 |
 |
| "Back to Gympie Week,"-Aboriginals who gave an interest-ing display.Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Friday 14 October 1927 |
 |
| Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Friday 2 September 1927 |
 |
| Barambah Aboriginal Settlement Band performing at Gympie, 1927, Gympie Times |
 |
| GROUP TAKEN AT GYMPIE AFTER LIEUTENANT HINKLER LANDED THERE IN 1921 ON HIS FLIGHT BACK TO SYDNEY FROM BUNDABERG. From left,-Lieutenant Bert Hinkler, Mrs. Hinkler (mother), Mrs. J. Bonney (aunt of Mrs. Hinkler), Mrs, H. H. Bonney (Melbourne, aunt of Lieutenant Hinkler). Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Saturday 25 February 1928, |
 |
| Wide Bay Co-operative Dairy Association factory, Gympie, QLD. 1929, Queenslandstatearchives |
1930s
 |
| The State School at Monkland, which was extensively .damaged by the cyclone which swept over Gympie on Thursday, morning. Note the telephone pole on the right Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Friday 23 September 1932 |
 |
| Gympie Show opens, QLD. Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Thursday 24 May 1934, |
 |
| Looking down portion of the main street, which is long and winding and hilly (Gympie, QLD). Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Saturday 25 June 1938 |
 |
| Relics of other days. Their work accomplished, oldbuggies and sulkies huddle together on a vacant allotment with wheels and shafts interlocked. Gympie, QLD. Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Saturday 25 June 1938 |
 |
| Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Sunday 10 September 1939 |
1940s and WWII
 |
| Mary Street, Gympie, QLD - circa 1940, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Pte. T. A. Gregory, of Gympie, QLD. Killed in action.Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Friday 25 July 1941 |
 |
| Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Tuesday 7 July 1942 |
 |
| Mary Street, Gympie - circa 1940, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Caledonian Hill, Gympie, Qld - 1940s, Aussie Mobs |
Private F. E. Jones, husband of
Mrs F. Jones, of Gympie, died while
a prisoner of war in Borneo. Before
his enlistment he was engaged in
farming in the Cedar .Pocket district.
 |
| LABOR DAY AT GYMPIE. QLD. Worker (Brisbane, Qld. : 1890 - 1955), Monday 10 May 1948 |
 |
| SISTER MARJORIE SFILLER, who has been nominated by the Gympie Central Hospital in the Queen of the Nurses Contest for Centaur House War Memorial Nurses Appeal.Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 - 1954), Thursday 17 June 1948, |
1950s
 |
| Mary Street, Gympie, Qld - 1950s, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Gympie from Palatine Hill, QLD, about 1950s, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Nestles Milk Factory in Gympie, Qld - 1950s, Aussie Mobs |
 |
| Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 - 1954), Friday 1 August 1952 |
 |
| Gympie State High School, QLD - July 1956 Queensland State Archives |
 |
| State High School, Gympie, July 1959, Queensland State Archives |
 |
| HRH Princess Alexandra visiting Gympie, 3 September 1959, Queensland State Archives |
1960s
 |
| Mary Street, Gympie, 1962. Looking west from near Smithfield Street towards Monkland Street. Queensland State Archives |
 |
| City Council Chambers and James Nash Memorial, Gympie, QLD, 1962, Queensland State Archives |
 |
| Weighing bagged beans, Gympie, QLD, 1966, SLQLD |
1970s
 |
| Andrew Fisher Memorial Park, Gympie, June 1970, Queensland State Archives (Andrew Fisher was a founding member of the Labor Party in Queensland. Fisher entered the Queensland Legislative Assembly after election as Labor candidate for the seat of Gympie in April 1893) |
 |
| Mary Street, Gympie, 1971, Queensland State Archives |
1980s
Mines in the Gympie region were re-opened in the mid 1980s.
1990s
 |
| Gympie Railway Station Platform Complex, Gympie Station and train, 1997, Queensland State Archives |
 |
| Commercial Hotel, Gympie, QLD, Matt, 2010 |
 |
| The Royal Hotel, Gympie, QLD, Matt, 2010 |
Around Gympie
 |
| 6 Bligh Street: Gympie Fire Station, QLD |
 |
| Former Australian Joint Stock Bank, 236 Mary Street, Gympie, QLD, was completed in 1882 |
 |
| 15 Caledonian Hill: Salvation Army Temple, Gympie, QLD |
 |
| Gympie Town Hall, QLD, opened in 1890 |
 |
| 11 Channon Street: Kingston House, Gympie QLD |
 |
| The Rotunda at Gympie Memorial Park, QLD, was built from 1919 to 1921 |
 |
| The old Gympie Post Office, QLD, was built from 1878 to 1880 by Andrew Collins. Queensland's first post master was appointed in 1842, and the first mail service was established in 1845. |
 |
| Nashville Masonic Lodge opened on 24 March 1869 in Duke Street (Gympie, QLD) |
 |
| Empire Hotel, Gympie, QLD (originally the Newmarket Hotel and was rebuilt as the Miners Arms in 1872) |
 |
| The story behind the naming of the Mary River. A life-sized bronze statue has been installed in Gympie, Queensland, honouring the city's connection with Lady Mary Fitzroy (nee Lennox). She was a a compassionate philanthropist but was killed by a carriage outside Parliament House in Sydney in 1847 |
 |
| Crawford and Co Building is a heritage-listed commercial building at 216 Mary Street, Gympie, QLD, built from 1881-5 |
 |
| Royal Bank of Queensland is a heritage-listed former bank at 199 Mary Street, Gympie, QLD, built 1892 |
 |
| Art Deco building, Gympie, QLD |
 |
| The Bank of New South Wales is a heritage-listed former bank at 242 Mary Street, Gympie, QLD, built from 1890-1 |
Things To Do and Placce To Go
Gympie Local Heritage Register
Gympie Gold Mining And Historical Museum
Gympie Gold