Guide to Bundaberg City Queensland Australia

Bundaberg is a relaxed river city of about 70,000 people, four hours north of Brisbane, surrounded by cane fields, macadamia orchards and vegetable farms. Australians know it for Bundaberg Rum and Bundaberg ginger beer, both still made here and both open to visitors. It is also the southern gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, the base for seeing nesting sea turtles at Mon Repos, and the home town of the aviator Bert Hinkler.

Known For

• The Bundaberg Rum Distillery and the Bundaberg Barrel
• Nesting sea turtles at Mon Repos each summer
• Day trips to Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot islands

The city centre sits on the south bank of the Burnett River, about 15 kilometres from the coast. Bourbong Street, the main street, is wide and lined with heritage buildings, among them the post office with its clock tower and the School of Arts. North Bundaberg, across the river, holds the botanic gardens and museums, and East Bundaberg has the distillery and the old sugar mill.

Most visitors pair the city with the beaches at Bargara, 15 minutes east. The climate is warm all year, the country is flat and easy to get around, and the food, from farm produce to seafood, is a growing part of the appeal. For the wider area, see the guide to the Bundaberg region.

Things To Do in Bundaberg

Bundaberg Rum Distillery

Rum has been made here since 1888, using molasses from the mill next door. The visitor centre has a museum in old bond stores, and guided tours go behind the scenes into the fermentation and barrel houses, ending at the tasting bar. A blend-your-own-rum session is offered for enthusiasts. Tours run daily; book ahead, wear closed shoes and leave phones and cameras in the lockers provided.

The Bundaberg Barrel

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, maker of the famous ginger beer, runs a visitor centre inside a giant barrel on the road to Bargara. A self-guided tour explains how the drinks are brewed, and finishes with a tasting of more than a dozen flavours and a mixed six-pack to take home.

Botanic Gardens and Hinkler Hall of Aviation

The botanic gardens in North Bundaberg wrap around lagoons full of waterbirds and hold several attractions. The Hinkler Hall of Aviation tells the story of Bert Hinkler, who made the first solo flight from England to Australia in 1928, with aircraft, simulators and his house, brought brick by brick from Southampton. Nearby are Fairymead House, a museum of the sugar industry in a plantation homestead, the local historical museum, and a volunteer-run steam railway that circles the gardens on set days.

Art, parks and the river

The Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, in a former bank in the centre, has changing exhibitions and free entry. Alexandra Park, on the riverbank, has a small free zoo and a playground. Baldwin Swamp Environmental Park has boardwalks through wetland five minutes from the main street, and the lookout on The Hummock, an extinct volcano, gives a view over cane fields to the sea.

Turtles and the reef

From November to March, rangers lead night tours at Mon Repos to watch turtles nesting and hatching. Day cruises to Lady Musgrave Island leave from the marina at Port Bundaberg, and light aircraft fly from Bundaberg Airport to Lady Elliot Island for day trips and stays.

Markets and farm gates

A large market is held at a local college every Sunday morning, with produce straight from the farms. Roadside stalls around the district sell macadamias, sweet potatoes, strawberries, tomatoes and passionfruit in season.

Where To Stay

The city has a wide choice of motels along the main approach roads, a riverside hotel in the centre and several caravan parks, at prices lower than on the coast.

In the centre, the Burnett Riverside Hotel overlooks the river within walking distance of Bourbong Street, and there are well-kept motor inns such as Villa Mirasol and the Bundaberg Spanish Motor Inn. Many holidaymakers stay at Bargara instead, in beachfront apartments, and drive in to the attractions. Book ahead for the turtle season and for winter, when travellers from the south arrive.

Eat & Drink

Water Street Kitchen is the city’s best-known restaurant, serving modern dishes built on local produce in a converted house. The Spotted Dog Tavern, in the old Railway Hotel, does well-made pub food, and Grunsky’s on the River sells seafood straight from its own trawlers, to eat on a deck over the water or take away. Indulge and Alowishus Delicious are favourite cafes, the latter known for gelato, and there is a craft brewery with a taproom in the centre.

History

The district is the country of the Taribelang Bunda, Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang and Bailai peoples. Timber-getters and farmers arrived in the 1860s, and the town was surveyed in 1870. Sugar took over within a decade, worked largely by South Sea Islanders brought to Queensland as indentured labourers; the dry-stone walls they built from field rock can still be seen near the coast.

Rum followed in 1888 as a way to use surplus molasses. The Burnett River has flooded the city many times, most severely in January 2013, when thousands of homes in North Bundaberg were inundated.

Getting to Bundaberg

Bundaberg is about 360 kilometres north of Brisbane, a little over four hours by road; leave the Bruce Highway at Childers or Gin Gin. Queensland Rail’s Tilt Train and Spirit of Queensland stop at the station in the city centre, and Bundaberg Airport has daily flights from Brisbane. Hervey Bay is about an hour and a half south.