Crime hot spot: Maryborough’s most dangerous streets revealed

New data shows there has been 1655 crimes reported in Maryborough over the past six months with five streets revealed as the most dangerous. FIND OUT WHERE

Crime hot spot: Maryborough’s most dangerous streets revealed.

New Queensland police data reveals there have been more than 1655 crimes reported in Maryborough in the past six months, equating to about 276 a month.

Theft was the most common crime in that time, and there were almost 170 crimes of violence.

In the six months prior to that, there were 1739 offences, about 5 per cent more.

The city centre was the most common place crimes were reported, with multiple incidents in Kent St, Adelaide St, Bazaar St, Alice St and Lennox St.

FIVE WORST STREETS

1. Maryborough CBD, Kent St, Adelaide St, Bazaar St, Alice St and Lennox St

2. Maryborough Hospital, Walker and Yaralla St, Maryborough

3. Cambridge St and surrounds, Granville

4. Gympie Rd, Tinana

5. Walker and Tooley St, Maryborough

In November 2024, the Maryborough CBD found itself in the spotlight when police started extra patrols in the town centre following revelations of rooftop standoffs, screams in the night and assaults.

At the time, residents and politicians began to call out the behaviour of individuals in the city centre after loud screaming matches were heard in the night and pictures of a public defecation were posted to Facebook.

A vagrant appears to defecate in the Maryborough CBD near the corner of March and Kent Streets in November, 2024.

Daniel Beattie, a Maryborough resident who ran for council, trumpeted the issue on his social media accounts, with multiple videos of outlandish behavior from people around the city.

A town meeting was called by state MP John Barounis following the public outcry in a bid to do more to clean up the area.

The cluster of crime around Maryborough Hospital. Photo: QPS

TOP FIVE CRIMES

1. Theft (425)

2. Drug offences (256)

3. Good order offences (177)

4. Assault (161)

5. Property damage (155)

Aside from the CBD, residential neighbourhoods experienced many thefts, assaults, and more commonly, drug offences.

In Granville, Cambridge St and its surrounding neighbourhoods saw around 33 offences in six months, while the corner of Cardigan St and Stuart Ct had a cluster of 11 crimes reported.

The south of Maryborough was not completely safe either, with a cluster of 22 crimes around Gympie Rd, Cran St, and the Tinana Hotel.

Walker St, which travels through the heart of suburbia and all the way to the Bruce Highway intersection, has had its fair share of crime so far this year.

In the past six months there were more than 50 offences committed and reported on Walker St and its adjacent streets, with incidents particularly frequent around the Maryborough Hospital and Yaralla St (24).

Yaralla St had a cluster of 24 crimes in the last six months, with some believing the heritage listed nurses quarters having something to do with it.

The small, unassuming street, particularly the northern end, and its surrounds were the location of nine drug offences, four assaults, three good order offences, and three thefts in the past six months.

Justin Kussrow, the owner of a private tattoo studio on the street called Justinkin, said he had witnessed unusual behaviour from time to time.

“I’d say four months ago, there was a guy out here who I’m pretty sure is familiar to the bay and Maryborough,” he said.

“Basically, he was pleasuring himself over near the school.”

Mr Kussrow, who has family members that attend the nearby West Maryborough State School, said this type of antisocial behaviour concerned him, especially when it happened around children.

The heritage listed nurse’s quarters that sit on the hospital grounds are empty, and Mr Kussrow believes it could be being used as shelter for people caught up in the housing crisis, or just down on their luck.

“I usually see some people making noise, but I think it’s from the hospital or homeless people.

“There’s heaps of stuff that goes on here.”