The Golden Gumboot is a sight to behold, but the story of how it came to be is a case study of good, old-fashioned Aussie town rivalry.
There is a long-standing rivalry between the Tropical North Queensland towns of Tully, Babinda and Innisfail as to which can claim to be the wettest. According to legend it became a two-horse race when Innisfail’s rainfall dropped markedly when the rain gauge was moved from next to the public toilets.
However, the rivalry took a new twist when Tully erected the Golden Gumboot, which has attracted a flood of visitors since its opening in May 2003. The inspiration came from the gumboot trophy awarded annually since 1970 to the town with the highest rainfall. The community go-ahead was given in January 2002 after a huge effort spearheaded by local councillor Ron Hunt and supported by over 30 local businesses.
The Golden Gumboot or a UFO?
However, not everyone was happy. The North Queensland UFO Society wanted a big UFO instead. And when Tully’s Rotary Club decided to claim the gumboot permanently, Babinda, which has had more rainfall in recent years, responded with plans to build a giant umbrella. This has not yet happened.
How big is The Golden Gumboot?
The gumboot is 6.1 metres long and 8 metres high – just a fraction higher than the 7.93 metres of rainfall recorded by Tully in 1950, the highest annual rainfall ever recorded by an Aussie town. Climbing up the gumboot is a white-lipped green tree frog carved by Roger Chandler. A mechanical rain gauge runs from the heel to the calf of the boot. An internal spiral staircase winds its way up to a viewing platform overlooking the town.
Who made The Golden Gumboot?
The Gumboot was built in bronzed fibreglass by sculptor Bryan Newell in nearby Millaa Millaa (the name means “rain, rain"). It was modelled on Bryan’s own gumboot and trucked to Tully under police escort. The whole thing cost $30,000, which included a grant from the Queensland Government and $3000 from the Bata Shoe Company for branding on the boot.
Fittingly, the finish date was delayed more than a month by heavy rain. It was finally unveiled on May 10, 2003, a day marked by torrential showers. The heavy rain drenched visiting politicians – locals instantly deemed it $30,000 well spent.
Where to find The Golden Gumboot
While there’s no official souvenir shop at the Golden Gumboot, you can pick up trinkets – keyrings, postcards magnets and the like – at the Tully Visitor’s Centre, which also has a record of annual rainfalls for all three towns.
Address: Banyan Park, Tully, Queensland Contact Phone: (07) 4068 4888
Hit the road to Gladstone, in Central Queensland, to discover local beaches, brews and a city changing its tune.
I haven’t been to Gladstone since I was about 11, one of four kids crammed in the back of a VW kombi van. My dad, an English subject master, encouraged us to make up a sing-song of the place names as we bounced along the Bruce Highway to Brisbane. It was both a game and geography lesson.
Rockhampton, Marlborough, St Laurence too Carmila, Clairview, skies so blue Gladstone, Miram Vale, the sun breaks through Gin Gin and Bundaberg we’re coming for you
The staccato tune has stayed with me ever since. And returning to Gladstone, Traditional Lands of the Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng and Taribelang Bunda peoples, after all these years made me nostalgic for those carefree east coast road trips of my childhood.
Gladstone’s glow-up: a new era for Central Queensland
The property has a heated pool.
Gladdie, as the town is affectionately known, is again on my radar thanks to the Peppers Gladstone property that opened here in February 2025. Peppers Gladstone shares its footprint with Mantra Gladstone and marks the first new-build hotel to open in the region in more than a decade. It is, says general manager Craig Conley, a clear sign that Central Queensland is evolving as a place to linger.
Earthy interiors at Peppers Gladstone. (Image: Toby Scott)
“Peppers Gladstone has helped put the town on the map,” says Craig. “And, being a dual-branded property, it offers guests a choice between the familiar comforts of Mantra and the elevated experience of Peppers,” he says. Craig says Accor, in collaboration with Yaralla Sports Club, launched the five-star hotel to provide a five-star accommodation option for visitors in town on both business or leisure.
The Pool Bar at Peppers Gladstone.
The property speaks to its locale. There is the indoor-outdoor space near the pool and terrace designed for all seasons. And each room is themed – Outback, Coastal, City, Rainforest – reflecting the diversity of the surrounding landscape. We’re in an Outback room, which is all earthy tones and textured wallpaper, and a reminder that we’re deep in the agro-industrial Queensland countryside.
Industry meets evolution in Gladstone
Boyne River estuary meets the ocean at Tannum Sands. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/Mark Fitz)
You can’t tell the story of Gladstone without acknowledging its role as a major export hub for billions of dollars’ worth of coal and liquid natural gas. It’s a town that was built around heavy industry. And this Accor property is designed to accommodate some of the executives who are visiting Gladstone, one of the largest bulk commodity ports on the planet. And while the Port of Gladstone Harbour Tour is one of the most popular tours in town, visitors to the region should also widen that circle to include its abundance of pristine beaches – Tannum Sands, Agnes Water, Seventeen Seventy – untouched islands and subtropical hinterland.
The coastal town of Seventeen Seventy. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/Jesse Lindemann)
Craig is somewhat of an evangelist for the area’s attractions and says the Peppers property is a great example of the area’s evolution. “The Peppers experience is about community and connection. It feels like a hub for the local community,” Craig says.
The best place in town for a pint
Ward’s Brewery is the city’s only brewpub.
Ward’s Brewery is also a top spot to test the barometer of this true-blue borough. Today, there are young families gathered to celebrate a baby shower around a table decorated with balloons. A group of FIFO bros clad in high-vis vests sinking schooners to mark the end of a stint in the mines. And a couple of grey nomads glued to the pub’s big-screen promotion of Lady Musgrave Island and the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
After living and working in London for 23 years, owner Michael Comley returned to his hometown of Gladstone pre-Covid. He says the pandemic gave him time to ponder his next move: to open the city’s only brewpub in the old soft-drink and cordial factory owned by his family.
Founder of Ward’s Brewery, Michael Comley.
“I grew up in the house next door,” smiles Michael, in between pulling pints and delivering food around the brewpub, decked out with local artwork, historic photographs and memorabilia. “My family owned the soft drink business from 1974 and the property was sitting empty when I returned, so I felt it was my duty to revitalise it,” he says.
The hum of friendly chatter says a lot about Gladstone and the brewpub’s place and position in the community. Ward’s has a rotating list of seven craft beers on tap and a menu of pub grub such as chicken wings burnished orange with spice. And lamb kofta served on tortillas slathered with hummus and stuffed with salad.
“I’ve lived all over the world, and I’m proud to be from Gladdie,” Michael says. “The surrounding areas are all on the map for visitors and now it’s finally Gladstone’s turn.”
While the region is best known for nearby boom towns Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy, indeed be time to raise a pint of Ward’s award-winning pale ale – it clinched gold at the Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards – to exploring the country’s lesser-known contours. Cue the chorus… Gladstone, Miram Vale, the sun breaks through, Gin Gin and Bundaberg we’re coming for you…
A traveller’s checklist
Getting there
Gladstone is about a six-hour drive north of Brisbane. Qantas offers direct flights from Brisbane to Gladstone with a flight time of about one hour and 10 minutes.
Staying there
Stay at Peppers Gladstone, where you can dine at Encore and watch your favourite team on the big screen at the adjacent Yaralla Sports Club.
Eating there
Raise a glass at the waterfront marina.
Sample local beers at Ward’s Brewery , housed in a century-old cordial factory and serving craft beers and a menu of small bites and bigger plates. Enjoy pub grub and water views at Auckland House , which is open for breakfast and serves an all-day menu from 11am.
Playing there
Gladstone Marina in the East Shores precinct. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/Mark Fitz)
Join a Port of Gladstone Harbour Tour or visit the Gladstone Maritime Museum to learn about the city’s importance as a port and maritime history.
Gladstone Marina offers access to the Southern Great Barrier Reef. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/Mark Fitz)
Take a stroll in the city’s open spaces, along the Millennium Esplanade at Tannum Sands, which has a playground and barbecues, and East Shores Parklands, which includes Gladstone Marina and has a waterfront boardwalk, green space, barbecues and a water play area.
Visit the 83-hectare Tondoon Botanic Gardens, which has 3000 plant varieties, a Japanese tea garden, sculptures, a herbarium and a lake. Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy are also worth the detour.
