5 reasons Gympie is not a 'bogan' town
We produce famous people, have the best beach in the world and are the town that saved Queensland..what more could we want?
Gympie
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WHEN Gympie teen Jack Fresen was asked by our sister paper The Sunshine Coast Daily what he will do when cigarette prices increase, he said he would smoke "as long as he could keep bumming cigarettes and tobacco from friends."
"I'll probably give up when they get to about $50," he said.
The story drew wide-spread attention online- but not because of the issue of the smoking tax increase, but because of the way Gympie was portrayed.
"Gympie is getting worse by the day I see," Natalie Sutherland commented on the story.
"Typical Gympie. So glad we moved away from that town," Bec Vidler added.
Benji Thornton said reporting the article was a poor effort on the part of The Gympie Times and showed Gympie as "very bogan like."
But just to set the record straight we want to remind everyone why we think Gympie is not a 'bogan' town and why, if you live here, it is a place to be proud of.
5 Reasons Gympie is not a 'bogan' town
1. We produce famous people
- Country pocket rocket Caitlyn Shadbolt
- The Castle classic actor Michael Caton
- Former prime minister Andrew Fisher
- Keeping up Appearances actress Judy Cornwall
- Famous author and oceanographer John Church
- Current Ipswich Jett and Brisbane Bronco Carlin Anderson
- Former Brisbane Bronco, Canberra Raider and Gold Coast Titan Kris Kahler
- Former Collingwood AFL player Lachlan Keefe
- National mumtrepreneur Jodie Allen
- Singer/song-writer Darren Hanlon
2. We play host to Hollywood stars
Charlie's Farm, starring US actress Tara Reid (of American Pie) was filmed in the Mary Valley in 2014 and followed by the filming of horror film Boar in 2015 and 2016, which is set to be released later this year.
Boar drew many household names to the area again during filming, including Ernie Dingo, John Jarratt, Nathan Jones and Hugh Sheridan to the area.
Former Packed to the Rafters star Hugh Sheridan told Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies - and all of Australia - on The Morning Show that when he first heard he would be filming for the horror film near "Gympie" he asked "where's Gympie?"
"We travelled around that region and it's actually really beautiful. It's amazing."
3. We have fabulous festivals
Our festivals draw people from around the country who come to soak up the music, art and film displayed at some of the best little line-ups of talent produced.
- The Gympie Music Muster
- The Heart of Gold Short Film Festival
- The Rush Festival
- The Goomeri Pumkin Festival
- Christmas, Easter and Winter on Mary
- The Imbil Tomato festival
- The Mary Valley Scarecrow Festival
- The Gympie Garden Expo
4. We are the gateway to a world class beach
From the Mary Valley to the Cooloola Coast, Gympie is the gateway to the Gympie region, which is not short of natural beauty. And it's not just us that think so.
Rainbow Beach was voted Australia's best winter beach by Traveller in 2015, and was named one the nine most beautiful beaches in the world by Huffington Post not long before.
While Lonely planet describes it as one of the top 10 most unusual beaches in the world.
5. We are the town that saved Queensland
It sounds made up, but it's actually fair dinkum'. Queensland had become a state in 1859 and less than a decade later in 1867 was facing bankruptcy. The Bank of Queensland had closed and unemployed men were wandering the streets of Brisbane desperate for work.
In a desperate attempt to raise additional funds the government offered a £3000 reward to anyone who found gold. That's when James Nash stepped in and made his discovery of gold at Gympie and overnight the wealth from the goldfield led to Queensland's first goldrush and single-handedly saved the state.
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