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In the centre of town, particularly in Bourbong Street, there are a number of impressive Heritage Buildings.
The School of Arts building (1889), Bundaberg's oldest public building, was refurbished as part of Federation Celebrations.
The Soldier's Monument was sculpted in Italy in 1921 to commemorate World War One losses.
With its colonial verandah, the 30m high Post Office Clock Tower (1890) across the road, from the School ofarts dominates the Central Business District.
The Commercial Bank building (1891) on the corner of Maryborough and Bourbong Streets boasts colonnades, a cast-iron balustrade, French windows, cedarjoinery and an elaborate staircase.
StAndrew's Uniting Church (1931) is designed in a traditional cross shape, and has a 21.6m carillion tower.
Christ Church, an English-style Gothic brick church with tower, stands opposite St Andrew's.
The Holy Rosary Church (1888) boasts beautiful stained-glass windows.
The Burnett Traffic Bridge was opened in 1900 to replace a ferry transport service. The toll paid was one penny for pedestrians and threepence for vehicles.
Buss Park Gardens houses the Bert Hinkler Memorial.
Hinkler, international pioneer aviator, remains one of the city's favourite sons.
Linden Clinic was built during 1913 as the home and surgery of Doctor Egmont Schmidt. Doctor Schmidt's art collection, left to the citizens of Bundaberg, forms the nucleus of the city's art collection.
St John's Lutheran Church features a tall copper-sheathed steeple topped with a neon cross. A huge, open bible with text completes the facade.
At the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, East Bundaberg, historic Spring Hill House is the pride of the distillery's tour operation. Lovingly restored, the former plantation house now houses a museum souvenir store and bar where the Bundy product can be tasted on site.
Bundaberg Botanic Gardens on Mount Perry Road features winding boardwalks and roadways around a waterlily lagoon. The complex includes Hinkler House Memorial Museum, Bundaberg and District Historical Museum, Fairmead House Sugar Museum and Ann's Kiosk for a spot of morning tea or lunch in the sun.
The Bundaberg Region is well known for its strong agricultural base, particularly its sugar industry, small crops industry, beef industry and seafood processing. Less well known is the strong, diverse manufacturing industry base, which underpins the agricultural industry, and its strong emerging tourism sector.
The region offers quality of life, affordable housing, high standard of educational facilities including both university and TAFE facilities. The region has high standard infrastructure with well developed communication, road, rail and air networks. Bundaberg also has a wide range of sporting, recreational and cultural activities.
Manufactured products from the region are well reputed worldwide. Products such as sugar cane harvesters, sugar mills, bricks and pavers, light aircraft, aloe and ginger beer are recognised worldwide. The region has a strong export base, exporting to most overseas markets.
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From 1867…
During 1867, timbergetters (and co-founders of Bundaberg) John and Gavin Steuart camped on the northern bank of the river, on the site later occupied by North Bundaberg Railway Station.
The first farmer followed before the year was out.
By 1868 Samuel Johnston had erected a sawmill on the north bank of the Burnett River, and Bundaberg's first industry was established.
Timber supplies ran short and a new industry, maize (corn) was established and was successful until the late 1870s.
Experimental sugarcane growing followed and a sugar industry grew.
A number of mills, mostly juice mills, operated. The rest were complete sugar mills extracting juice (and processed the production of the juice mills) for manufacture of raw sugar. The early sugar industry was supported by plantations belonging to mill owners and plantation owners and farmers employing South Sea Islander labour.
Bundaberg was gazetted a town in 1902 and a city in 1913.
Most labouring work available during this period was on a casual basis, chiefly farming, railway maintenance and stevedoring. Light industries such as blacksmithing, coach building, boat building, saw milling prospered.
TODAY
Today, early prosperity is reflected in distilling, sugar production, cane harvesting equipment manufacture, engineering and allied industries, fishing, light aircraft manufacture, plastics production, other major industrial enterprises, farming, food and beverage manufacture and supply and tourism.
As the Southern Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Bundaberg has a rapidly expanding tourism industry. In season whale-watchers are catered for with day tours from August to mid October. Backpacking tourists contribute greatly to the city's economy.
Bundaberg boasts the most equable climate of any Australian town or city. In this capacity the city is ranked fifth in the world.
The launch of the tilt train, in November 1999, means it is now possible to make a day-trip to Brisbane. Improved services to Brisbane, excellent air transport, bus services, an attractive Central Business District, major shopping complexes, public & private hospitals, a progressive City Council, Education Facilities from Kindergarten to University, and multi-cultural activities, Bundaberg, with a population of 46,000 and growing, is often the choice of young families and retired people seeking life-style alternatives.
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