Memory

Pioneer River at Marian Sugar Mill, 1914. From Glimpses of sunny Queensland (3rd edition), Queensland Government Intelligence and Tourist Bureau, Brisbane, 1914. Collection of the Centre for the Government of Queensland

Dame Nellie Melba’s house, Marian, 1931. ‘Mr Armstrong, the late Dame Nellie Melba's husband, was one of the first managers of the old Marian Sugar Mill, in the Mackay district. The house depicted above was built for Melba and her husband. It has since been shifted to another site and is occupied by the Chief Engineer (Mr Guilford), and the house of the present manager (Mr O’Neil) is erected on the original site of Melba’s home. Mr Dave Coyne, one of the oldest pioneers of Marian, remembers Melba in the early days of Marian.

Wreck of the Cherry Venture, 1973. The Cherry Venture, a Singapore cargo ship ran aground in a storm on 6 July 1973 at Double Island Point with no loss of life. After serving as a tourist drawcard, removal of the severely rusted wreck began in 2007. Slides by Robin Barron, Collection of the Centre for the Government of Queensland