There's something about Mary in Mary St

Gympie council coy about Mary St sculpture that will be a tribute to "Mary”, but just who was "Mary”?

SCULPTURE: Who was the Mary behind Mary St? This image appears on the invitations sent out to Gympie businesses for the unveiling of the sculpture on Valentine's Day. Picture: Contributed.

GYMPIE Regional Council is being very coy about it, but the footings have been poured and the invitations sent out for the unveiling of a sculpture in Mary St that will apparently honour the "Mary” after which the street, the Mary River and the Mary Valley are named.

The statue, Lady of the Mary, will be unveiled at a special ceremony at the Gympie Centre Stage on Valentine's Day by Mayor Mick Curran.

Mary St in Gympie. Picture: Renee Albrecht

Its design and placement has apparently not been run past a full meeting of the council, however.

Some councillors were aware it was happening, some were not.

"It's going to be a commemorative statue of Mary Lennox, to give a bit of an atmosphere to the street, which was named after her,” said Cr Daryl Dodt.

"

A surprised Cr Glen Hartwig however, had no idea.

"I know nothing about it,” he said.

"This is the first time I'm aware of it.

"We haven't received any information in council regarding the sculpture.”

Glen Hartwig

It is unconfirmed exactly where the sculpture will be positioned but there was some speculation among Mary St businesses and signs of a project on the pavement near the Brown Jug Cafe today.

There is also plenty of speculation about the cost of the art work.

The council wasn't giving away any details, claiming that to do so would spoil the launch on February 14.

The Mary River was so named after Lady Mary Lennox, wife of Governor Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, the then Governor of New South Wales.

According to the history book, 1867-1967 A Golden Past a Golden Future, the first white men to locate the river and later christen it the Mary were Andrew Petrie and party, who entered Wide Bay and journeyed up the river past Maryborough as far as Tiaro.

This was in 1842, and Petrie called it the Wide Bay River.

It was known by this name until 1847, when Governor Fitzroy directed that the river should be called the Mary in honour of his wife, Lady Mary Fitzroy (nee Lennox).

At that time, Queensland did not exist as a separate colony, being part of New South Wales.