Photo queens Park, Maryborough. (L Kelly)

There’s so much to explore, enjoy and absorb in Maryborough Qld. Less than four hours from Brisvegas, it’s a doable escape for these times of Diesel/petrol expensiveness. We were there at Easter and it was so quiet compared with other places in Qld we’ve visited at Easter. Gold and Sunshine Coasters, Eat your hearts out. The main ambience is one of history with Maryborough having been both an important port and a railway town.

The grandeur and richness of the many 19th century building facades in Maryborough is breathtaking. Clearly, no expense has been spared preserving these glorious architectural gems from a bygone era. The must-visit building is ‘The Story Bank’, more than just an interactive museum, which celebrates the life of Mary Poppins’ author, PL Travers.

The Story Bank is identifiable by the statue of the stern but ethereal nanny, Mary Poppins outside. Already there’s a sense of a childhood fantasy coming to life, but it’s not until you step inside the front door that the real story begins. There’s a pun in the name. P L Travers is a pen name. The author was born ‘Helen Lyndon Goff’, in 1899 in the residence above the Joint Stock Bank where her father was the manager. This is the bank building in Kent St. Admission is $15 or $11 concession. Children are $5.

You don’t just buy a ticket at most attractions in Maryborough and look around yourself. A lovely lady called Debra gave us the extensive background story and told us what we should look out for. And another lady called Fay was wandering round pointing things out. So well done. A lot of planning, time and expertise has gone into it. It was like re-entering childhood. ‘Mary Poppins’ was the first movie I ever saw in the old Cinema in Barraba. I must have been only three or four.

As you cross the threshold, you enter a world where fantasy and fact intertwine. The Banks children are sliding down a banister and Mary Poppins is sitting primly at the bottom. There’s a deliberate connection to Travers’ own life in the name, ‘Banks” and in the occupation of their father. A teacup chandelier hangs from the ceiling and in the bedroom where Helen Goff was born, a gorgeous quilt details aspects of her life.

The rooms of this historical building are filled with movie memorabilia, items from Travers’ estate (including letters and photographs), and interactive exhibits. Children are encouraged to write their own fairytales by opening up a “story bank” account and depositing their stories. Visitors can even receive correspondence from Mary Poppins at the postcard-writing station (Travers loved writing postcards and saw it as an art form)!

The stunning interiors are the work of local artisans, who’ve lovingly created a whimsical world for all ages to enjoy. Don’t forget to look for the twenty hidden mice — illustrated by local artist April Spandina.

Tales and yarns, myths and legends, memories and stories and realia lead you on a discovery trail telling the story of her life, her family, and the influences on her writings and retelling her stories. Enter the study, sit at the writing desk, and pretend to create an all-time best seller. But be warned: if the phone rings and you jump in surprise, answer it! After all, this is your story!

There is also a yarning circle devoted to stories from the earliest storytellers of the Fraser Coast region, the Butchulla people.

‘The Legends of Moonie Jarl’ was first published in 1964 and is the first Australian children’s book of Aboriginal stories to be written and illustrated by Aboriginal people: Butchulla siblings Moonie Jarl (Wilf Reeves) and Wandi (Olga Miller). You can buy it in the giftshop along with all the Mary Poppins books. They’re a series; not just a single volume.

History buffs should visit the Colonial Military Museum, where a gentleman called Greig frontloaded us with information on the 7-10 000 or so items (depending on who is telling you) on display.

The museum was very clean and glass-casey, but there seemed to be a lot of written-information overload on every exhibit. Mainly it is about local people who were very brave. But having no links to these people and not knowing them or of them, I wandered round just feeling dazzled.

I did linger a little longer at the LIGHT horse display, because one of my great uncles was in the LIGHT horse.

It was also interesting to discover that the first man ashore at Gallipoli was a Maryborough Man called Duncan Chapman.

Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform and medals are on display too:

Apparently Brendon Nelson said it was the best military museum in Australia when he opened it a couple of years back. Entry is $15 or $25 per couple.

A worthwhile outdoor free experience is to do the Gallipoli to Armistice Walk in peaceful, riverside Queens Park which is in stark contrast to the relentless shelling, mud, and bloody carnage of World War I. From the boats full of red not-poppies, signifying the boats of the ANZACs, facing an 8-metre high sculptural representation of the cliffs of Gallipoli, leading to panels telling the story of the battles. There are poignant representations of nurses and war correspondents.

From there, visitors follow inscribed pavers to the Western Front battlegrounds, past sculptures and whispering voices, extracts of letters from Wide Bay soldiers to an arbour dedicated to the pitiless Battle of Pozieres. A really good spot for quiet reflection.

Although the Happy Days Diner in Maryborough was attractive as a dinner venue, its menu, as you’d expect, is centred around American-style ‘junk’ food and not friendly to those with dietary issues.

We enjoyed dinner at the Koi Japanese Restaurant instead. Their bento boxes are huge, satisfying to the eye and kind to the stomach.

The following morning, we had brunch at a coffee shop called Alowishus Delicious next to the Town Hall which houses the Cistern Chapel and the Info Centre. It has gluten free and Vegan options and lived up to its name.

The Cistern Chapel started life as a dowdy public toilet and has now become one of Maryborough’s main attractions. It’s a cheeky nod to Michaelangelo’s brushstrokes on the Sistine Chapel.

The magical artwork is spreading pure joy with plenty of cheeky, quirky humour to make people smile. There’s a downright festive air around the loos with divine views and you mustn’t miss seeing the gold dunny.

Artists were chosen from a tender process, with Fraser Coast locals Akos Juhasz and Gary Madden the key artists involved. Akos’ work is well-known in the region with many local murals featuring Akos’ unique style (you should take a walk around the streets and check out the murals).

Gary Madden has created a soothing space in the Parents Room with plenty of quirky characters to appeal to youngsters.

A ‘flusher usher’ called Sandra pointed out a fewer of the finer details which you’d otherwise miss. Oh we also went to the Info Centre in the Town Hall and bought, not a t-shirt or stuffed toy, or tea-towel, but a beautiful leatherbound complete volume of the Mary Poppins books.

Wharf St, which runs along the Mary River is absolutely crammed with heritage buildings. Ian at the Bond Store said it is the most haunted street in Australia according to the folks with the official ghost detectors. Ghost tours every 3rd Friday of the month folks.

Admission is also free to the Bond Store Building, where imported goods used to be stored till customs duty was paid, is interesting in and of itself. So much history there. Interactive displays such as the original paving-stone floor and projections telling stories Fay (from the previous day) was also there. We did a tasting of local liqueurs with her.

Yum! Hard to decide but we bought a bottle of the Macadamia Nut one. Macadamia nuts are indigenous to one small section of the Mary River, so it felt very local indeed. The native name for macadamias is ‘Bauple’. I recognised the name of a town which has always amused me and had an ‘ah ha’ moment.

We spent several hours in the art gallery—Gataker’s Art Space—kind of across the street. That’s where I snuck in under an art installation for the selfy that is currently my profile picture. We didn’t go much on the modern sculptures, but we loved the traditional oil paintings by Katarzyne Hartmann, a locally resident artist originally from Poland, and spent most of our time there poring over the photo exhibition—A Life Through the Lens— candid shots from the fifties, sixties and seventies by Glen David Wilson.

We walked along the river and then out on a pontoon where we spoke to some girls. They’d caught a really decent fish but didn’t know what it was. All fish look similar to me and they all taste really good.

Dinner that night was delicious from the bistro at the Lamington Hotel, across the street from the Wallace Motel and Caravan Park where we had three nights in an ensuite powered site. The facilities were very clean.

In July, there is a Mary Poppins Festival, and Maryborough comes alive with Brolly-wielding nanny types. Any time’s a good time to visit Maryborough though, so ‘Spit Spot’, as Mary Poppins would say. If a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, then you are guaranteed a sweet time.