Maryborough Historic Buildings Part 1

Grabbing a self-guided map from the Information Centre, we set off to explore the grand old buildings of Maryborough, starting at the stunning Queen Anne style red brick Railway Station, built in 1890. 
Huge columns, iron gates and bluestone steps at the entrance give an indication of the grandiose design of the building. In 1895  Mark Twain visited the area and described Maryborough as "A railway station with a town attached...You can put the whole population of Maryborough into it, and give them a sofa apiece, and have room for more"
Tesselated tiles in the foyer were made by the same company that laid the tiles in Melbourne's Parliament House. According to local legend, on a windy day you can still hear the screams of a worker who died here in 1891! 
A covered verandah runs the length of the platform, with a continuous glass window in the ridge, which throws a lovely light down on the platform below. The station closed in 1993, was renovated in 2006/7 and resumed rail services in 2010.
Next door, the Central Goldfields Shire Offices...

...and the former Flour Mill, once the home of Granny Davis Bread. It closed as a flour mill in 1980, just one year before it's centenary. It was left vacant for 17 years and is now a fine furniture timber supplier and vehicle storage facility.
The Worsley Museum and Cottage was closed at the time of our visit, but the gorgeous bluestone and sandstone buildings and gardens look like they are worth a return trip.

We continued up to the Bristol Hill Tower, for views over the town and the surrounding hills. The tower was built as a memorial to the town's pioneers and named after a local goldmine reef. The spiral staircase was built using bluestone from the former gaol and the original cemetery is at the bottom of the hill.
 
Verses of Henry Lawson's The Roaring Days poem are etched in two plaques on the walls at the base of the tower.  

Oh, who would paint a goldfield,

And limn the picture right, 
As we have often seen it

In early morning's light!

Oh, they were lion-hearted
Who gave our country birth!
Stout sons, of stoutest fathers born,
From all the lands on earth! 

 
We set off to find some lunch, before continuing our exploration of the rest of the town.

What: Maryborough Historic Buildings Part 1

Where: Maryborough

When:  Daily  
How Much: FREE self-guided tour.  
Nearby: Part 2.