History tours unearth stories behind Nambour landmarks

Jan England centre, will lead another history tour on October 22.

Nambour’s streets revealed plenty of stories beneath the modern shopfronts when history lovers recently retraced the town’s past – from devastating fires and vanished hotels to a sugar mill that once sent trains rumbling across Currie Street up to 59 times a day.

Genealogy Sunshine Coast’s Jan England led the historical walk on the western side of Currie Street on September 24 and explored how familiar parts of Nambour had changed over the years.

The walk uncovered the people and businesses behind many local landmarks and street names.

Among the stories was Bury Street, named after George Bury, who arrived in Australia from England in 1869 and later became a prominent Nambour hotel owner.

Nambour’s first library opened in the Town Hall in 1913, where Centenary Square now stands, only to be destroyed when the hall burnt down in 1929. A new library was eventually opened at its present Bury Street site in 1986.

Fire has played a dramatic role in Currie Street’s history. The Commercial Hotel was destroyed in 1914, rebuilt, then caught up in another major blaze in 1924. A 1929 fire destroyed businesses, the council chambers, Town Hall and library on the western side of Currie Street.

The walk also recalled the Moreton Sugar Mill, which opened in 1897 in what is now Mill Lane. At its busiest, up to 59 trains a day crossed Currie Street, creating regular traffic delays. The mill closed in 2003 and the site later became the Coles complex.

Currie Street itself was once the Great North Coast Road and later Gympie Road before taking its present name in 1896.

Genealogy Sunshine Coast will continue the story with another historical walk on Thursday, October 22, this time exploring the eastern side of Currie Street, Howard Street and surrounding areas.

The walk leaves Nambour Library in Bury Street at 9am and will compare what once stood at various sites with what is there today.

Cost is $10 and numbers are limited. Book at Genealogy Sunshine Coast’s premises in Petrie Park Road, opposite the swimming pool, or online through Genealogy Sunshine Coast. Participants should bring water, a hat and good walking shoes.