Flashback to the golden days of tourism in Mackay

Wild horses, thriving timber, cattle and pineapple industries, orchids and island cruises to ‘wonderland’

THE Queensland State Archives team has unearthed a treasure in full-colour glory showcasing Mackay's golden days of tourism.

The 17-minute-long video released in 1958 boasts the region as the epicentre for great weather, sports and scenic destinations of "sheer delight".

"The district is famous for its wild horses, and rough riders," the narrator said.

"These boys will stage a rodeo at the drop of a rusty horseshoe."

Mackay's "graceful" and tall palm bungalows were the beautiful backdrop to "natural" swimming pools while Eungella's orchids grew in "wild tropical profusion".

The Eungella Hinterland was also described as having a thriving timber industry and one of the "safest grazing areas in the Commonwealth" for cattle to get fat on "lush pastures".

Flashbacks to the ‘Coral City in the Sun’ tourism advertisement for Mackay, 1958. Pictures: Queensland State Archives

The narrator said Mackay was home to golden sugar and pineapple crops as well as Australia's largest artificial harbour where ships "of almost any size could berth with ease and safety".

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But the main drawcard were the three "beautiful" Roylen Star cruisers taking tourists to "wonderland".

"Little do we even dream of the beauty, colour and fun awaiting us on the islands and waters of the Great Barrier Reef," the narrator described.

"Dolphins lead the way with their splashing tails"

"What a thrill."

Brampton Island was painted as the "green and sparkling like a gem set in the Asian sea" with its shore offering coconuts - "truly the drink of the gods".

And as a true historical snapshot, the ad lured in anglers with the chance to catch a 7ft grouper, which is now fiercely protected in Queensland waters.

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Former operator of Roylen Cruises Barry Dean said Mackay tourism during the 1950s was up there with the best times of his life.

"It was a very casual atmosphere," the former captain of more than 20 years said.

"People always jumped over the side of the boat when we anchored somewhere."

But perhaps the next era of island tourism for Mackay is just around the bend with trips to South Cumberland Islands to start next year.

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