Tony Goodman reveals group’s plans for Gympie’s Mary St

Plans to revitalise Gympie’s CBD following the devastating floods are underway, with community leaders exploring how to transform it into a tourism mecca.

Imagine Mary St closed off at night and transformed into an evening al fresco dining precinct.

Or the CBD turned into its own version of the popular Eat Street events held in Brisbane.

Or every month bringing the taste of a different country or culture to CBD.

These were three ideas floated Monday night as a newly minted Mary St action group took what was hoped to be the first steps to breathing new life into Gympie’s troubled city centre.

CBD Action Alliance was formed by former Chamber of Commerce president Tony Goodman following the chamber’s controversial and contentious decision to step away from delivering the popular Mary St festivals.

Chamber president Petra van Beek said at the time that the decision came down to resources, pointing out “(we) are all volunteers … it takes a lot of effort to run (the festivals)”.

This decision came eight months after the street was submerged under the near-record February 2022 flood waters.

On Monday night more than 40 business owners and community leaders from within the street and across Gympie gathered near Mama Dees Kitchen to discuss how to drive the street into a new era.

Tony Goodman said there was a need for a “compelling vision” of what Mary St would look like if it was going to be transformed and revitalised in the coming years.

Mr Goodman said the recovery would struggle without effort.

“Towns, communities … don’t just automatically survive,” Mr Goodman said.

He stressed the need for a “compelling vision”.

“How do we create a strong, dynamic, vibrant town centre?”

Maryborough’s popular and unique Cistern Chapel was a starting point, he said.

The Chapel is a renovated set of public toilets, which have been decked out in high end art and murals.

It has drawn more than 20,000 visitors to the regional city since its opening in May 2022.

Ideas were put forward during the meeting, which discussed not only the street’s future, but the need to address its ongoing problems.

These latter included increasing awareness of the parking options spread around the CBD, the fact the street shuts down at night, and public transport problems.

Businessman Brendan Allen, who served as the Chamber of Commerce’s treasurer during Mr Goodman’s run, said the main street “needs to be consistently alive … not just at festival time”.

Flood mitigation had to be addressed too.

Maryborough’s popular Cistern Chapel was an example of how the region could move forward and embrace art and culture to revitalise Mary St, Mr Goodman said. The Chapel has drawn more than 20,000 tourists since its creation.

Playback Gympie owner Aisha Belling said tourists were intrigued by how high the floodwaters had reached and this could be leveraged, even if only by way of an official marker.

“Tourists love that sort of thing,” she said.

Mayor Glen Hartwig said work needed to begin on the 20 year vision for Mary St.

Mr Hartwig said the planning needed to encompass not only what was desired, but its cost and where the money for it would be found.

“What sort of businesses do we want in the street?” Mr Hartwig said.

The unique flavour of the street itself was a drawcard too.

“Tourists come because they’re not chain stores,” he said.

“I can see Mary St being the next Montville … or Kenilworth on weekends.”

Originally published as Tony Goodman reveals group’s plans for Gympie’s Mary St