Thirty kilometres south of
Maryborough, Queensland, a traveller can come across a sign diverting off the
Bruce Highway to the town of
Bauple. Pronounced "Bopple", the township is nestled at the foothills of
Bauple Mountain and is famous for the
Bauple Nut (known by many as the
Queensland or
Macadamia Nut). It is believed that the nut was discovered thousands of years ago by the
Butchulla and
Kabi Kabi people who considered them a delicacy.
Bauple, only 11 klm off the Bruce Highway, south of Tiaro (Author's photo)
To learn more about the history of the town, it's industry and the local Bauple Nut, a visit to the
Bauple Museum is well worth the stop. Situated in Bauple Drive and only a gold coin entry, a visitor can spend hours going through folders of information, stories and historical records to gain an understanding of the local area. The Museum was opened in February 2001, which was 132 years after the first settler took up residence in the area. It is open seven days a week from 10.00 to 3.00pm and is run on a volunteer basis by the
Mount Bauple & District Historical Society Inc.
If you think you may have an ancestor from the Bauple area, there is a section at the museum where you can research and sift through their mammoth amount of records, which includes war records, old photographs and history of the earlier families to the area. I also found a list of the first and second fleet of convicts and instantly found my ancestor's name.
Does anyone remember growing up with one of these jugs in their home? (Author's Photo)
The skin of a
Crocodile, which was shot in the
Mary River in on display and although it is not as large as some I have seen, I certainly would not want to be face to face with its relatives anytime soon.
Crocodile shot in the Maryborough River in 1964 (Author's Photo)
There is always something in a museum that can give you the "ah" feeling and for me it was seeing the slate and pencils, which I vaguely remember using in my first grade. Beside them in the display cabinet were books from my primary school years, books that taught me to write the alphabet letters and others that taught me how to read. Memories of carefree times came flooding back.
At one time in history every school had slates (Author's Photo)
There are electrically operated barbeques in their garden area for community use and toilets are also on site. Cold drinks can be purchased from the museum. The museum is also wheelchair friendly.
The historical society is always looking for members and if you are looking for a place to meet lots of interesting people, you can sign up for membership from their
website.
