[4][5] Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast,[6] Gympie is about 170.7 km (110 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane.

Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi, Cabbee, Carbi, Gabi Gabi) is an Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken by the indigenous peoples of the Sunshine Coast Region and Gympie Region, particularly the towns of Caloundra, Noosa Heads, Gympie and extending north towards Maryborough and south to Caboolture.

[13] Gold mining still plays a role in the area's fortunes, along with agriculture (dairy predominantly), timber and tourism.

M Horan under lay administration, and was taken over by the Sisters of Mercy in 1880, becoming St Patrick's Catholic Primary School.

[24] In August 1868, Wesleyan Methodists erected a bark hut of pole construction on Surface Hill to use as a basic chapel.

It was replaced by a more permanent timber church on the same site facing Reef Street, which opened on Sunday 4 July 1869.

This was then superseded by the third and current church, built in brick, on the corner of Lady Mary Terrace and Amy Street (26°11′19″S 152°40′11″E / 26.1887°S 152.6697°E / -26.1887; 152.6697 (2 July 2020)).

Most of the floods occur between December and April and are typically caused by heavy rainfall in the headwaters to the south.

[38] The highest flood ever recorded in Gympie occurred on 2 February 1893, when the river peaked at 25.45 m (83.5 ft).

In March 2012, the Gympie Regional Council decided to spend about $30,000 for a cost-benefit analysis on flood mitigation measures.

The WoodWorks Museum provides an insight into the timber industry and social history of yesteryear through displays and demonstrations.

Features include a large selection of pioneering hand tools, a 1925 Republic truck, bullock wagons, and a blacksmith shop.

[citation needed] Gympie's Mary St offers a wide array of bars, cafes, and shops with 19th-century Victorian architecture.

[69] The Gympie Town Hall Reserve Complex, built in 1890, was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2011.

[72] The annual Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival is held in Gympie in March.

About 24 km (15 mi) south-east of Gympie, Woondum National Park provides access to subtropical rainforest, creeks, and granite outcrops.

[73] Facilities include picnic tables, barbecues, firewood, fresh water, amenities, and bush-walking tracks.

[74] About 30 minutes' drive east of Gympie is Tin Can Bay, where one can hand-feed Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins.

[citation needed] Gympie and the surrounding area are part of the Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve, listed by UNESCO as a world conservation site.

[78] Gympie is home to one campus of the Wide Bay Institute of TAFE located on Cartwright Road.

[87] The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) has a campus in Gympie located on Cartwright Road.

[90] The Gympie branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the St Johns Ambulance Rooms at 20 Apollonian Vale.

[citation needed] Eight councilors are elected to the Gympie Region local government area.

[98] The electoral district of Gympie in the state legislature was created in 1873 and includes Tin Can Bay, Rainbow Beach, Cooran, Pomona, and parts of the Mary Valley.

[99] In 1893, Andrew Fisher was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as Labor member for Gympie and went on to become the fifth Prime Minister of Australia.

[99] Since 1960, it has been considered a safe State Liberal-National seat having been won by the Country or National Party every election except for a brief period in the early 2000s.

)[99] Since 2015, Tony Perrett of the Liberal National Party is the member for Gympie in the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

[100] The Queensland government had plans to build a dam on the Mary River at Traveston Crossing, about 16 km (9.9 mi) south of Gympie, arguing that the geology is sound and that the South East Queensland region needed greater water security due to climate change and population growth.

The affected land owners and other shire residents staged rallies protesting the proposed dam.

Strong opposition to the dam from the wider and international community based on environmental concerns related to the endangered Mary River cod, Mary River turtle, giant barred frog, Cascade tree frog, and Coxen's fig parrot and the vulnerable Queensland lungfish, tusked frog, honey blue-eye fish, Richmond birdwing butterfly, and Illidge's ant blue butterfly finally shut down the project.