Maryborough

History

Evidence of human inhabitation of the Maryborough region stretches back to at least 6,000 years ago. The Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) and Batjala (Butchulla) people are the original inhabitants of the region. The Gubbi Gubbi were described as an inland tribe of the Wide Bay–Burnett area, whose lands extend over 3,700 sq. miles and lie west of Maryborough. The northern borders run as far as Childers and Hervey Bay. On the south, they approach the headwaters of the Mary River and Cooroy. Westwards, they reach as far as the Coast Ranges and Kilkivan. The Batjala occupy the more coastal regions including K’gari (Fraser Island). The Batjala and Gubbi Gubbi speak dialects of the Dippil language, the Batjala dialect being spoken in the Fraser Coast region, while the Gubbi Gubbi dialect is spoken in what is now the Gympie and Sunshine Coast regions. The escaped convict James Davis lived among various clans of the Gubbi Gubbi. British navigators Matthew Flinders in 1802 and William Edwardson in 1822 were the first Europeans to take detailed surveys of the Hervey Bay coastline. They both noted that the native population living on its shores appeared numerous. The first British people to live in the region were escaped convicts from the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. Convicts Richard Parsons and John Graham both briefly lived with local Aboriginals during the late 1820s. James Davis, however, lived with several Gubbi Gubbi clans from 1829 to 1842. He became a member of their society and was given the name Duramboi. After these initial explorations, pastoral squatters started to enter the region looking to establish sheep stations. The first of these was Mynarton Joliffe who, under the employment of the prosperous squatter John Eales, overlanded 16,000 sheep and set up the Tiaro…

Geography

Maryborough is located on the Mary River in Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is served by the Bruce Highway. It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is approximately northeast. Together they form part of the area known as the Fraser Coast. The neighbourhood of Baddow is within the west of the suburb near the Mary River. It takes its name from Baddow House, a historic property in the area (). Baddow railway station () and Baddow Island () in the Mary River also take their names from the house.

Most-observed species

• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  711
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  646
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  591
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  559
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  557
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  545
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  539
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  536