A QUICK WALK AROUND AGNES WATER (13 JUNE 2016)

The name Agnes Water (remember it has no 's') has a somewhat tragic history. In the early 1880's the coastal schooner 'Agnes' left Bustard Head bound for Mackay. She never arrived, and was declared 'lost at sea' somewhere in the area where the town now stands. 

The redoubtable Daniel Clowes established the first pastoral lease in the district in 1883 and named his property Agnes Water in memory of the lost schooner. And now Clowes himself, who did not live very long after he had settled in the area, is remembered through this headstone over his grave 

which lies in the park at the far end of the Agnes Water caravan park.

This is a popular spot. Car parking is provided for those wishing to access the beach

whilst for those less well off, there is only one way to transport the surfboard to the breakers....on foot. This was a more than common sight in Agnes Water, both here and through our caravan park where the completely open access to all and sundry meant we had to be a little more than usually vigilant in securing our bits and pieces. For us, this was a real negative as far as the park was concerned.

Here too, for the much younger, is a well equipped playground

beyond which a pathway leads through the shaded picnic areas to the beach itself.

Here the local authorities have thoughtfully provided public showers to allow those emerging from the briny to flush off unwanted salt, which in itself is unremarkable for a beach town. It was the accompanying notice which grabbed our attention.

Who would ever guess that Agnes Water is a magnet for backpackers?  We found these notices near all the public shower facilities both here and in 1770. 

Given our experiences with many of this ilk who roam the country on a wing and a prayer and very little else, many of whom camp illegally and bolster their stores with goods for which payment is not made, we strongly suspected that this would be one of Australia's least obeyed civic instructions.

From this beach park area we turned in the opposite direction to make the short walk into the Agnes Water 'CBD'.

It was here that we passed the front of the unremarkable looking Mango Tree Motel, and it was also here that we gained a glimpse of the early days of what is now one of the town's biggest money -spinners....tourism.

Tourism has always featured large in the history of Agnes Water. Let me digress briefly. As previously noted, the town began life as a pastoral lease. Some timber milling was carried out in the early days, but right from the outset of the settlement of the area the beach here was a drawcard. Folk would come for miles in their horse drawn buggies, which they loved to parade up and down the sands at low tide. 

A few holiday houses sprang up in the bush settings of the town slopes, but it was not until as recently as 1982 that commercial tourism began in the town.......and you are indeed right.....with the establishment of the Mango Tree Motel.

What we see here now is a far cry from these pioneering days in the industry. I'll let the plaque which stands near the motel entrance tell the remarkable story of hard work and determination to succeed. 

Looking over the town as we later did from one of the vantage points on the high slopes which are a feature of this area, where every street is lined with permanent and holiday

homes of high quality, we found it somewhat hard to accept the fact that all this development stemmed from the enterprise of one Ken Tucker a mere thirty plus years ago. From these pioneering beginnings, tourism now flourishes in Agnes Water......the entire town is geared for it and for retirement living. 

And whilst the Mango Tree continues to thrive as a business (we were both pleased to see this after all the hard work of yesteryear), it now has some serious nearby competition in the form of the Agnes Water Beach Club

and the neighbouring Beachhouse Estate, of which a glimpse through this imposing entrance was all we could manage. These are but two of the many holiday apartments and other short term rentals which abound here.

Agnes Water is not a large town. About 2,000 souls call it home on a permanent basis, but there is no doubt this number swells considerably during the 'high season' when the winter warmth and clear coastal waters draw visitors like moths to a flame. And these are a varied lot. Here the grey nomads (both long and short term) rub shoulders with young overseas backpackers and surfies, young and old, who congregate here to take advantage of the last break on the coast before the intervening bulk of the Great Barrier Reef snuffs out any hope of surf.

In addition to the attractions of the fine beach and the surf, Agnes Water boasts being the town which is closest from which to access the southern section of the reef, has good fishing and boating and is one of only three spots on the east coast where the sun sets over the sea (no biggie for us from Adelaide....but it is a novelty for those who call the east coast home).

As we wandered on past the tourist accommodation and into the town centre, we were surprised by the extent and scope of the Agnes Water commercial hub. This has been established in two distinct precincts, 

separated by the the road which leads out through the town to the nearby 1770.

The Endeavour Plaza was the first cab off the rank in this part of our jaunt.

Here we found the first of the two town supermarkets, the Spa, a good quality fish and chippo

a number of cafes off the centre walkway

and, at the far end, this imposing looking Thai restaurant where I'm reliably informed those with a penchant for this style of food will not be disappointed.

Opposite this commercial cluster was clear evidence that the good burghers of Agnes Water, both permanent and transient, need not be concerned by the fact that the town is a good 60 kilometres off the Bruce Highway, and, as I mentioned previously, 70 kms from the nearest major centre, Bundaberg, when the need for medical attention raises its head.

This impressive looking local medical centre has the lot.....GP's, medical imaging, pathology and dentistry services all under the one roof. 






And we were later staggered to find, just out of town on the way back to Miriam Vale, another dentist's shingle which proclaims that this small town is more than well catered for in the aching tooth department. We suspect they are here for the lifestyle rather than maintaining a thriving practice. Either that or this small community must take the Australian gold medal for poor dental hygiene. We saw no evidence of smiles which exposed teeth which would scare young children so we are sticking with the 'lifestyle' theory.

At the junction of the road into town and that to 1770 we found the Agnes Water War Memorial

beyond which the town 'sevo' stands ready to slake the thirst of the local and visiting autos

and provide a home for one of the several tourist information centres and booking offices.

A short distance up the hill this sign announced that we had reached the second commercial precinct, the Agnes Water Shopping Centre.

The local surf shop was advertising a sale, but we did not darken its doors. 

Nor, surprisingly, did Liz pass through the portal of the Agnes Water bakery nestled in the corner of this block











and neither the pharmacy nor the Cafe Discovery tempted us. But we did make a few purchases at the Foodworks supermarket just next to the chemists after finding that the price tags here were considerably more appealing than those at the Spa, although here in Agnes Water none of the numbers on the goods on the shelves can match Woolies or Coles.




Agnes Water does boast a pub, but sadly for its owners, it is somewhat beyond walking distance from the caravan park. I am sure this has a markedly detrimental effect on the bottom line, and it certainly saved the Marshies' coffers from at least one raid.

There is no doubt that Agnes Water has attracted quite a number of the well heeled to make this their home, even if only for their holidays and weekends. The houses in the street leading out of the park

and elsewhere, on the flat 

or situated to take advantage of the views out over the ocean, were universally of good quality and well maintained.

We did find a development area between Agnes Water and 1770 where the homes were more tightly packed and clearly less expensive, but by and large Agnes Water does say 'money'. We both found it an attractive and well serviced small town where the weather, the beach and the scenery all make for a very good lifestyle for those who call this place home.