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Step Into the Music at the Band Rotunda
Pictures: The beautifully crafted Maryborough Band Rotunda 2025 vs Circa 1930 (1930 photo supplied by the Queensland State Library) (On mobile device, tap on pic for 1930 pic, tap off pic to return to 2025)
The Essentials
Where: Queen's Park (top) cnr Sussex and Bazaar Streets, Maryborough
When: Open Daily
Cost: FREE!
Discover the charm of the Band Rotunda, a Victorian-era treasure in Queen’s Park, hosting monthly free concerts.
Pictures: The beautifully crafted Maryborough Band Rotunda 2025 vs Circa 1930 (1930 photo supplied by the Queensland State Library)
(Hover over pic to switch between 2025 and 1930)
Pictures: The beautifully crafted Maryborough Band Rotunda 2025 vs Circa 1930 (1930 photo supplied by the Queensland State Library)
(On tablet device, tap on pic for 1930 pic, tap off pic to return to 2025)
The Essentials
Where: Queen's Park (top) cnr Sussex and Bazaar Streets, Maryborough
When: Open Daily
Cost: FREE!
Experience the charm of Maryborough’s historic Band Rotunda in Queen’s Park
A Victorian-era treasure where music and heritage meet in a beautifully ornate structure
An ornate band rotunda in Queen’s Park beloved by a century of photographers had a bit of an embarrassing debut in 1890.
It was bought at the 1888 Glasgow exhibition by trustees of the estate of Janet Melville. It was to be part of the memorial to her brother Andrew, sheltering the superb Fairy Fountain, but it was clear from the first day the water was switched on that the two features were incompatible.
The top jet from the cherub atop the fountain sprayed water on the roof. According to a contemporary report, the fountain drenched the VIP guests at the official opening, much to the amusement of the ‘lower orders’ watching from a safe distance.
Maryborough had been hankering for a bandstand for performances in the park so the fountain was moved to its own site, leaving the rotunda to become a striking feature in its own right.
Its domed cast iron ogee (double) roof supported on decorative cast iron columns is topped by a lavishly decorated cupola and finial.
A low ornamental iron fence was built around the rotunda when the fountain was relocated but the fence was removed, apparently after a child fell and tragically impaled himself on the top of the spearheads.
A gnawing issue with the rotunda was the visibility of performers and speakers, as the floor was almost at ground level. Raising the floor 625cm in 1932 solved the issue. Seating around the rotunda and shade from massive fig trees make it a perfect venue for speeches, performances and weddings.
Once a month, free concerts by the Maryborough City Excelsior Band fill the park with music plus food stalls on one side and the city’s famous little model steam locomotives giving rides to young and old on the 5 inch tracks winding over to the banyan tree.
Discover the charm of the Band Rotunda, a Victorian-era treasure in Queen’s Park, hosting monthly free concerts.
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