Location

The Gympie Regional Council area is located in the Wide Bay Burnett Region of south-east Queensland, about 160 kilometres north of the Brisbane CBD. The Gympie Regional Council area is bounded by the North Burnett Regional Council area and the Fraser Coast Regional Council area in the north, the Coral Sea in the east, the Sunshine Coast Council area and the Somerset Regional Council area in the south, and the South Burnett Regional Council area in the west.

Included Areas

The Gympie Regional Council area encompasses the localities of Amamoor, Amamoor Creek, Anderleigh, Araluen, Banks Pocket, Barambah, Beenaam Valley, Bella Creek, Bells Bridge, Black Snake, Bollier, Boonara, Booubyjan, Brooloo, Calico Creek, Canina, Carters Ridge, Cedar Pocket, Chatsworth, Cinnabar, Coles Creek, Cooloola, Cooloola Cove, Coondoo, Corella, Crownthorpe (part), Curra, Dagun, Downsfield, East Deep Creek, Elgin Vale, Fishermans Pocket, Gilldora, Glanmire, Glastonbury, Glenwood (part), Glen Echo, Goomboorian, Goomeri, Goomeribong, Greens Creek, Gunalda, Gympie, Imbil, Inskip, Johnstown (part), Jones Hill, Kandanga, Kandanga Creek, Kanigan (part), Kia Ora, Kilkivan, Kinbombi, Kybong, Lagoon Pocket, Lake Borumba, Langshaw, Long Flat, Lower Wonga, Manumbar, Manyung (part), Marys Creek, Melawondi, McIntosh Creek, Miva (part), Monkland, Mooloo, Mothar Mountain, Mount Urah (part), Moy Pocket, Mudlo, Munna Creek (part), Nahrunda, Neerdie, Neusa Vale, North Deep Creek, Oakview, Pie Creek, Rainbow Beach, Ross Creek, Scotchy Pocket, Scrubby Creek, Sexton, Southside, Tamaree, Tandur, Tansey, Theebine (part), The Dawn, The Palms, Tin Can Bay (part), Toolara Forest (part), Traveston, Tuan Forest (part), Tuchekoi, Two Mile, Upper Glastonbury, Upper Kandanga, Veteran, Victory Heights, Wallu, Widgee, Widgee Crossing North, Widgee Crossing South, Wilsons Pocket, Windera (part), Wolvi, Woolooga, Woondum and Wrattens Forest.

Land Use

The Gympie Regional Council area is a rural, urban and rural-residential area. The main population centre is Gympie, with small townships and communities at Amamoor, Cooloola Cove, Curra, Goomeri, Gunalda, Imbil, Kandanga, Kilkivan, Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay, Traveston and Woolooga. Rural land is used largely for agriculture, particularly beef production and forestry. Tourism is also an important industry. The Gympie Regional Council area encompasses a total land area of about 6,900 square kilometres.

Name Origin

The Gympie Regional Council area is named from the Aboriginal word “gimpi” meaning “stinging tree”.

Indigenous Meaning

The original inhabitants of the Gympie Regional Council area were the Gubbi Gubbi (or Kabi Kabi) Aboriginal people.

Settlement

European settlement dates from the 1840s, with initial settlement mainly along the Mary River. Population was minimal until gold was discovered in 1867. Growth took place from the 1870s into the early 1900s, spurred by gold mining, with timber cutting and agriculture also being important industries. Townships grew around gold fossicking areas. The first railway line (Gympie to Maryborough) opened in 1881, with a second one in 1891 (Brisbane to Gympie), and then another one in 1915 (Mary Valley branch). Gold mining waned from 1906, and ceased in 1925. Dairy farming and agriculture (particularly fruit growing) became the main economies from the early 1900s. The population of the Council area increased during the interwar period, rising from about 15,000 in 1921 to about 21,000 in 1933. The population increased slightly during the post-war years, rising from about 20,000 in 1947 to nearly 23,000 in 1961. The population then declined slightly, falling to about 21,000 in 1971. During the 1980s the population increased, rising to over 24,000 in 1981, and then to about 27,000 in 1986. The population continued to increase from the early 1990s, rising from about 31,000 in 1991 to nearly 46,000 in 2011. Nearly half of the growth in the 1991-2011 period was between 1991 and 1996.

Major Features

Major features of the Gympie Regional Council area include Great Sandy National Park - Cooloola Recreation Area, Mudlo National Park, Woondum National Park, Great Sandy Marine Park, numerous state forests, Inskip Peninsula Recreation Area, Tin Can Inlet, Mary Valley Heritage Railway (the Valley Rattler), Wide Bay Military Training Area, the Mary River, Cooloola Great Walk, Cooloola Wilderness Trail, Bicentennial National Trail, Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum, Gympie Woodworks Museum and Interpretive Centre, Cooloola Beach, Rainbow Beach, ferries/barges to Fraser Island, Barnacles Dolphin Centre, Gympie Town Centre, TAFE Queensland East Coast (Gympie Campus) and University of the Sunshine Coast Gympie Campus.

Transport

The Gympie Regional Council area is served by the Bruce Highway, the Bunya Highway, the Burnett Highway, the Wide Bay Highway and the North Coast railway line.