Iconic Gympie picnic spot The Sands to be restored after flood damage

Gympie Regional Council has announced works to restore The Sands, an iconic and much-loved picnic spot on the Mary River.

The Sands will soon be restored.

Flood restoration for The Sands, a section of Gympie’s much-loved and enjoyed River to Rail Trail, will start this week.

Gympie Regional Council’s announcement of the restoration of The Sands comes on the anniversary of the week where floods almost 23m high ran through Gympie.

The fast-moving waters left mud, river residue and debris that severely damaged parts of the city and the banks of the Mary River.

The first stage of the project is to reopen the trail which includes ‘The Sands’ and runs alongside the Mary River from Deep Creek to the Gympie Netball Courts and is expected to cost $150,000.

Council commenced works this week and, weather permitting, it is expected to be completed by the Easter school holidays, the director of council’s infrastructure services, Graham O’Byrne, said.

The Sands runs along the Mary River and for years has been an historical location for picnics, swimming, fishing and canoeing.

The 7.8km stretch of River to Rail Trail runs through nine iconic locations such as the Deep Creek fossicking area, the Mary Valley Rattler Station, Gympie town centre and Albert Park.

Flood restoration for The Sands will soon start. The section in green is open, yellow is in progress and red is yet to be completed. The trail is likely to be fully open and completed in 2023. Picture: Gympie Regional Council

The remainder of the section, from the Netball Courts and Albert Park, the council is in the process of securing external funding.

This stage will include flood resilience works in selected locations, revegetation of The Sands, remediation of the landslip near the Netball Courts, and reopening of the trail between the courts and the touch fields, Mr O’Bryne said.

It is likely that the trail will reopen in full in 2023.

Revegetating The Sands included a $169,000 Mary River Trail Rainforest Restoration Project and was completed at the end of 2017.

It brought the community together as Gympie environmental group Landcare assisted in organising plantings with Gympie schools.