Our route today took us south down the Bruce Highway to the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. This will be our last night in Queensland before we cross the NSW border tomorrow.
Just north of Gympie, the road changed from a single lane road to something of a motorway with two lanes in each direction and separated by a concrete barrier.
On our previous trip, we bypassed Gympie but this time we decided we should turn off the highway and have a look. I have generally perceived Gympie as being home to a large number of bogans. In Australia and New Zealand, “bogan” is a slang term used to describe someone considered uncultured, unsophisticated, or of low social status. It can be used in a derogatory way or playfully, depending on the context and who is using the term.
I’m not sure if this website is still active but it has it will educate you about bogan culture. Look it up to have a good laugh. https://thingsboganslike.wordpress.com/the-full-list/
Whether or not Gympie is considered a “bogan” town is subjective and depends on individual perspectives. While some may perceive this town as having a “bogan” element, it’s also a town with a rich history and a strong community focus. It’s a place with a mix of residents and experiences, and generalizations about it being solely a “bogan” town are probably inaccurate.
Mary Street is the centre of the town and is noted for its shady trees and broad shopping boulevarde.
I am not sure whether the size of the couthouse is an indication of the level of crime in the town but it is an impressive building with a high tower.
I’m sure that Victoria can learn something from Gympie. It looks to me as if there are some parallels. Queensland had become a state in 1859. By 1867 it was less than a decade old and was facing bankruptcy. The Bank of Queensland had closed. Unemployed men were wandering the streets of Brisbane desperate for work. The government was so financially strained it had been forced to stop work on the Ipswich-Toowoomba railway which had only reached Grandchester. (Sound almost familiar?)
In a desperate attempt to raise additional funds the government offered a £3000 reward to anyone who found gold. Fortuitously a man named James Nash discovered gold near the present site of Gympie. Overnight the wealth from the goldfield led to Queensland’s first goldrush and single-handedly saved the state.
Near the Sunshine Coast, we made another detour to see the Glasshoue Mountains. These are an area of rugged peaks that stand out across the landscape. They were named by Lieutenant James Cook, when he was sailing north during his epic journey along Australia’s east coast. He navigated the area on May 17, 1770 in HM Barque Endeavour.
In his journal of that day Cook wrote ‘these hills lie but a little way inland, and not from each other: they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glass house, and for this reason I called them Glass Houses’. The glass houses referred to by Cook were the glass making foundries in Yorkshire England which reminded him of a familiar landscape.
For the rest of our day, our drive was on a four lane freeway. Over the distance, the Bruce Highway had grown considerably from its single lane form further north. We continued south amidst quite heavy traffic. Driving was becoming difficult as congestion caused the traffic to go from 110 km. per hour to a stop four times before and after we crossed the Gateway Bridge. It was something of a relief to turn off to head towards Surfers Paradise where our accommodation at the RACV Royal Pines Resort is located.
