20260617 Qld Maaroom, Howard

20260617 Des moved the van to the picnic grounds so he could take the BBQ’s for breakfast before we set the nav to the town of Howard. We were on our way when Des noticed a sign to Maaroom, so we took a detour to check it out, a nice clean little town settled on the foreshore’s of the Great Sandy Marine Park and where the thick mangroves are home to many muddies, but it’s the sandflies that concerns me. With a population of 247 people, the town is part of the untouched little fishing villages scatted along the edge of the Great Sandy Strait and just a short boat trip to Frazer Island. Maaroom, meaning "strong wind," an appt description for the winds that sweep across the Strait.

History says Maaroom functioned as a fishing and oyster-cultivation hub for the growing Fraser Coast region.

Anyone want to go fishing, then this is the place to be, Maaroom boat ramp.

An arial view of Maaroom.

Out of all the towns that we visited along the Great Sandy Strait, out of all the towns we visited along this strait Maaroom was our favourite, although they were all neat tidy towns but Maaroom just seemed more homely.

We arrived in Howard, a tiny town that was once named Steley (after Able Steley) but then changed to Howard after William Howard, who discovered the coal field in 1876. Today Howard is a quiet heritage village surrounded by farms and close to coastal towns like Burrum Heads.

The store was Established in 1952 by Mr Fred Woods, Van Cooten’s Howard Drapery has grown into a destination store for locals, travellers and craft lovers and from what I witnessed they are certainly racking in the Dow for a tiny town.

Des and I strolled the streets when I just happened to step into a haberdasher for a brows, Des picked up a lovely green hat, and $100 later I walked out a new owner of another hat, just what I need but I do love the colour.

Steeping through the doors of the drapery felt like history has stood still, that’s the thing I love about these old towns, how they hang onto the important parts of their history. The store carries a huge range of items from Haberdashery to curtain and patchwork fabrics, accessories, clothing, Manchester, hats and gorgeous giftware - they certainly have something for everyone.

We continued wandering through the town stopping at the IGA, Desi discovered a 3 kilos bag of GoodO’s for $20. The yabbies absolutely love them, but after carefully weighing up the purchase like he was buying beachfront property, he walked out empty-handed. A short time later he returned to grab them when the shop owner smiled and said, “You dropped $10.” Did I said Des, well’s here’s another $10 and happily walked out with his bag of GoodO’s thinking, just as well I went back.

The Grand Hotel in Howard was established in 1899, it’s one of those classic Australian country pub that has stood its time and survived the booming coal mining era, being the only one still trading from a peak of eight historic pub.

The mural depicts local history & figures, including a traditional owner portrait & a historic mining scene.

The artwork depict’s a message of peace, love, and unity within the community, the mural is the portraits of four local children, representing the diverse future of the community.

Des left me when I stepped into a boutique or witches shop, I just love the natural energy of these magical shops, I spent some time browsing the items while chatting to the lovely owner, Cindy.

The shop is described as a “Magickal Mess” and is a popular spiritual and alternative retail store, managed by Cindy. It serves as a community hub for local pagan, witchy, and alternative-minded people.

Ya gotta love these handcrafted pottery planter featuring a sculpted face.

These are so cool, it was close but I was good and didn’t buy one thing.

Thats it for Howard, I’m sure we will return one day.

The End