Hinkler Town

4 November 2010

There’s so much more to see than just the rum distillery

The small town of Bundaberg is brimming with attractions. Of course, Bundaberg’s most famous one is the rum distillery, and the fact that they can charge up to $25 per person for a full tour indicates just how popular it is. The tour area is all tarted up in sunlight yellow, while just across the road the glum tones of a time-worn factory support the belching smoke stacks that dominate the Bundaberg landscape.

 

Just over one block away is another attraction with links to the brewery and that’s Schmeider’s Cooperage where you can watch casks being made, see fine art and some excellent crafts, in particular the woodwork. Also on the premises is a glassblower and you might be lucky enough to see him blowing something up while you’re there.

 

Bundaberg opened a new museum in December 2008, the Hinkler Hall of Aviation. Bundaberg is proud of the man who is arguably Australia’s greatest ever aviator, Bert Hinkler. His story reads like a fiction novel: Hinkler set flying records all over the world and flew solo to Australia in a single-engine plane in 1928. These days it seems like nothing when we jaunt over to Europe in 24 hours. Yet, here was a man who found his way by looking at road maps on his lap while flying a plane on routes never before taken by man.

 

I found the most interesting anecdote to be the fact that he is interred in Florence not a long way from where he tragically crashed into mountains at the tender age of 40, leaving a lady in England and a surprise wife in America. He was given a state funeral by Mussolini.

 

Hinkler Hall of Aviation has a novel wing-shaped roof that encloses, amongst other things, the largest globe in the Southern Hemisphere that has Hinkler’s routes laid out in lights. Dotted all around in chronological order are Hinkler’s planes. There are interactive displays and three theatrettes, one of which has the dulcet tones of Dr Karl who has become another of Hinkler’s legion of fans.

 

While you’re at the Hinkler complex, you’ll notice that there are extensive gardens and other buildings nearby. Here you can spend a whole day. The first thing is Mon Repos, the house that Bert built in Southampton. In 1983, Southampton City Council decided they had no further use for it and offered it to Australia, so a whole bunch of dedicated Bundaberg people went over, spent five weeks dismantling it brick by brick and shipping it to Oz.

 

It’s not the only building that’s been moved here, though. Fairymead on the opposite side of the parkland was shipped a mere 8km, but with just as much difficulty, to its present site as a fine example of a plantation home. It now houses a whole host of information and memorabilia about the sugar industry.

 

In between these two is the Botanical Gardens and the Japanese Garden (recently expanded), both worthy of a stroll in their own right. Nearby to Mon Repos is the Historical Museum with lots of general bric-a-brac and odd items of interest.

 

When you’re finished with all those, you might like a repast at the 1928 restaurant, named after the year of Hinkler’s most famous flight. If you’re there on a Sunday, you can also climb aboard the large model steam train whose track runs around part of the botanical garden.

 

The other things to see in the area depend on your interests. If you have children in tow, you are well served by Alexandra Park and zoo (birds only) and the wonderful Baldwin Swamp that features an outstanding playground and acres to run around in with ponds that support a myriad of bird life. There are about 75 bird species in Baldwin Swamp Conservation Park, including jacanas, swamp hens, herons and magpie geese. The walking tracks include Figtree Circuit (150m, five minutes), Harry Frauca Walkway (200m, 10 minutes), and Sunset Track (400m, 15 minutes). The swamp has been named after one of Bundaberg’s pioneers.

 

For those with an artistic bent, you have the options of the regional gallery and the School of Arts, both buildings worth a look for their architecture alone, the former with a most striking colour scheme and the latter in Renaissance style with Corinthian columns. If it’s sculpture you seek, then the town has supported many a work, most notably in the parks beside the river. There’s a pamphlet listing them all, available at the well-stocked and helpful Information Centre.

 

While you’re down by the river, you can’t help but notice that there are walks laid down for those who want to stroll, cycle or exercise, but they aren’t confined to this area. You’ll also fi nd waterside walks in the outlying suburbs such as Bargara, Elliott Heads and Coral Cove and they all have well-maintained facilities. It was wonderful at Innes Reserve to see the brightly painted murals on the side of the toilet blocks without any graffiti on them.

 

By now you’ll probably be wondering if there’s a cruise hereabouts, and the Bundy Belle will serve you well here. The very informative and interesting commentary may have an addition to it as, while I was there, the business was being sold to a former music teacher. It does about a two-hour down-river trip; times can vary slightly due to tidal influence.

 

Then there’s The Barrel, a large half cask that houses ginger beer interactive displays. Here you can find out interesting trivia (for up to $12 per head), push buttons, pump things and taste the many items they produce at the end though the bubbliest thing is definitely the friendly staff here. A popular purchase is the six-pack of assorted drinks for $7.50.

 

By this time you’ll be looking for some rest, and there are four caravan parks on the foreshore to choose from, all with waterfront views. However, don’t expect a roaring ocean in front of you. No, you’re more likely to see black rock-lined foreshore or a brackish water river. Still, the water does move. In addition, there are another 11 parks to choose from in the city and surrounds, ranging from two stars up to four.

 

Elsewhere, you’ll find the usual smattering of clubs (four good golf courses among them), pubs and other places to socialise, but you’ll probably find me at Bargara in one of the waterside, palm-sheltered cafes by Nielsen Beach. Wherever you end up, have a nice time in Bundy.

 

CHEAP TREATS

 

HINKLER HALL OF AVIATION
Cnr of Mount Perry Road and Young Street
Bundaberg North, Adults $15
Open 9am to 4pm, (07) 4130 4400

 

BUNDABERG RUM DISTILLERY
Avenue Street, East Bundaberg
$25 Interactive display and guided tour
Tours are run on the hour, every hour from:
10:00am–3:00pm, Monday to Friday, 10:00am–2:00pm, Saturday to Sunday & public holidays, wear fully enclosed footwear
(07) 4131 2999

 

BUNDABERG BARREL
East Bundaberg
$7.50 adults, Open Monday to Saturday from
9am–4:30pm. Open Sunday and on public holidays from 10am–3pm. Closed Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day.
(07) 4154 5480

 

BUNDY BELLE CRUISE
Two and a half hour cruiser down the Burnett River. $13 adults

 

HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Open 10am to 4pm daily, (07) 4152 0101

 

FREE ACTIVITIES

 

BALDWIN SWAMP CONSERVATION PARK
Baldwin Swamp is 4km from the Bundaberg Post Office, 1300 130 372

 

ALEXANDRA PARK & ZOO
Quay St, Bundaberg, (07) 4153 9289

 

WALKING TOUR OF THE CITY CENTRE
A self-guided walking tour throughout Bundaberg’s CBD.

 

BUNDABERG REGIONAL ART GALLERY
1 Barolin St, Bundaberg, (07) 4130 4750

 

SCHMEIDERS COOPERAGE & CRAFT CENTRE
3–7 Alexander St, East Bundaberg
Open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, Saturdays 9am-3pm, (07) 4151 8233

 

VISIT BARGARA
Time to have a cuppa and then have a walk

 

VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE

 

BOURBONG STREET, BUNDABERG
Open Monday to Friday from 9am–5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am–4pm.
Closed public holidays.
1800 308888
www.bundaberg.org/tourism/seeanddo/attractions/

By Ian Smith
""