Mary River, River Heads & Maryborough
The Mary River comes out into the Great Sandy Strait at River Heads, where the K'gari ferries run across to Kingfisher Bay and Wangoolba Creek. Upriver, past Beaver Rock and the cane country, it winds a long way inland to the old port town of Maryborough. NGA notes that the Port of Maryborough isn't used commercially any more except for fishing, and its big tidal river is mainly a trailer-boat and fishing waterway these days. For a yacht, River Heads is a handy corner of the strait. Maryborough is an adventure for the shallow and the curious.
- Bridges at Maryborough: MSQ GSS-7 marks a bridge in town, but we haven't read a clearance for it. Check before you take a mast up.
- 1River Heads ferry · K'gari ferry (OSM).
- 2River Heads (West) ramp · TMR HB12.
- 3Beaver Rock ramp · TMR MB31.
- 4Mary River Marina · OSM.
- 5Maryborough, March St jetty · TMR MB14.
- 6Maryborough, South St ramp · TMR MB21.
At a glance
| What it is | Mary River from River Heads to Maryborough, plus the Susan River mouth |
| River Heads | K'gari ferry terminal, barge ramp and big public ramps |
| Upriver | Marked channel. MSQ notes no depth info in places and warns of strong currents |
| Town | Mary River Marina and public jetty and ramps at Maryborough (OSM, TMR) |
| Map age | MSQ GSS-3 to GSS-6 current to 28 January 2016 |
| Recent change | ⚠ 2 September 2026 (483(T)/2026): buoys relocated on the Mary River |
Getting here
From the strait, River Heads sits on the point between the Mary and Susan rivers, opposite K'gari. MSQ's GSS-5 sheet has an enlargement for River Heads and a warning about strong currents. The ferry traffic is steady, so keep clear of the barges at the ramps.
Up the Mary, MSQ's GSS-6 and GSS-7 sheets show the channel to town. Parts of it carry the note "no depth" and MSQ's usual warnings about submerged flood debris. Like the rest of this series, the contours weren't resurveyed after the 2011 and 2013 floods, and with a river this size, floods change it. ⚠ MSQ relocated buoys on the river on 2 September 2026 (483(T)/2026), so the 2016 sheet won't match the water.
Anchoring
Our sources don't name an anchorage in the river for keelboats. NGA's quarantine anchorage for the port lies a mile north of the fairway buoy out in the strait, which is a ship anchorage. Small boats stop along the river and off River Heads on the tide.
Skipper's notes
Garry's own observations from deliveries through Mary River, River Heads & Maryborough. First-hand notes, dated, and no substitute for the chart.
- Depth
- [Garry to add: depths seen, state of tide and date.]
- Holding
- [Garry to add: bottom type and how the anchor held.]
- Shelter
- [Garry to add: wind directions it is good or bad in.]
- Other notes
- [Garry to add: anything else worth knowing, with date.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Is Maryborough practical for a keelboat (depth and bridges)?]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Visitor berths or moorings in town, if any.]
Notes last updated: [date]
Facilities
- River Heads: ferry terminal, barge ramp and public ramps, with a few shops (see Ashore).
- Maryborough: OpenStreetMap shows Mary River Marina on the town reach, plus a public jetty at March Street. Our sources don't confirm visitor berths or fuel there.
Boat ramps
From the TMR list: River Heads (East) and (West), Ariadne Street (1 and 2 lanes, not tide-limited), Beaver Rock (2 lanes), Maryborough, Raglan Street (1 lane) and South Street (2 lanes, toilets), and Yengarie upriver (tide-limited).
Rules in brief
- Marine park. The river mouth and the strait are in the Great Sandy Marine Park.
- Ferries. Keep clear of the K'gari barges at River Heads.
- Notices. Maryborough pilotage area list.
Ashore
What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.
From Mary River Marina / Maryborough, March St jetty (boat ramp / dinghy landing, marina)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Old Sydney Hotel | Pub | 640 m | – |
| Hotel Carlton | Pub | 750 m | – |
| AAFC - No 216 Squadron | Yacht/boat club | 840 m | – |
| Central Hotel | Pub | 850 m | – |
| The White Lion Hotel | Pub | 940 m | – |
| Maryborough Sailing Club | Yacht/boat club | 990 m | – |
| plus 2 more within the walk | |||
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Portside Cafe & Restaurant | Restaurant | 200 m | 103 Wharf Street, Maryborough QLD 4650 |
| Thirsty Old Crow | Restaurant | 400 m | – |
| Wara Thai Restaurant | Restaurant | 460 m | 302 Kent Street, Maryborough QLD 4650 |
| Toast Espresso Bar | Cafe | 510 m | Bazaar Street |
| Parkside on Adelaide | Cafe | 660 m | 243 Adelaide Street, Maryborough 4650 |
| Alowishus Delicious | Restaurant | 760 m | – |
| Not Another Coffee Shop | Cafe | 840 m | 221 Lennox Street, Maryborough QLD 4650 |
| Bellygood | Restaurant | 860 m | 193 Adelaide Street, Maryborough 4650 |
| plus 6 more within the walk | |||
| Entertainment | |||
| Maryborough Bond Store Museum | Museum | 150 m | Wharf Street, Maryborough 4650 |
| Doll Museum | Museum | 360 m | – |
| Mary Poppins statue | Attraction | 380 m | – |
| The Story Book | Museum | 390 m | – |
| plus 7 more within the walk | |||
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| BWS | Bottle shop | 540 m | – |
| Woolworths | Supermarket | 620 m | Adelaide Street, Maryborough 4650 |
| Dan Murphy's | Bottle shop | 710 m | – |
| French Hot Bread | Bakery | 780 m | 207 Adelaide Street, Maryborough 4650 |
| Maryborough Central | Shopping centre | 1.1 km | – |
| Food For Less | Supermarket | 1.2 km | – |
From Maryborough, South St ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Lamington Hotel Motel | Pub | 410 m | 33 Ferry Street, Maryborough QLD 4650 |
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Harry's Thai Food | Takeaway | 920 m | 4/26 Gympie Road, Tinana 4650 |
| Iveys Chicken 'n' Carvery | Takeaway | 950 m | 6/24 Gympie Road, Tinana 4650 |
| Kebab King | Takeaway | 1.0 km | 6/ |
| Domino's | Takeaway | 1.0 km | 4/ |
| Naturally Noodle | Takeaway | 1.1 km | 2/ |
| Happy Days Diner | Restaurant | 1.1 km | – |
| Kings Tandoori | Restaurant | 1.1 km | 3/ |
| McDonald's | Takeaway | 1.2 km | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| Bottlemart | Bottle shop | 400 m | – |
| The Butcher Shop Fine Food Butchery | Butcher | 920 m | 24 Cran Street, Tinana 4650 |
| Tinana Place Foodworks | Supermarket | 930 m | 1/24 Gympie Road, Tinana 4650 |
| Tinana's Hot Bread Shop | Bakery | 960 m | Gympie Road, Tinana 4650 |
| ALDI | Supermarket | 1.1 km | 340 Alice Street |
From River Heads ferry / River Heads (West) ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing, marina)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Rivers Bar and Bistro | Restaurant | 1.0 km | – |
| River Heads Cafe and Takeaway | Cafe | 1.1 km | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| Spar Express | Supermarket | 1.1 km | – |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Beaver Rock ramp.
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- MSQ notices to mariners, Maryborough pilotage area (Wide Bay Bar, Great Sandy Strait, Urangan)
- Great Sandy Marine Park zoning (Queensland Government)
- MSQ: crossing a coastal bar (safety advice)
- Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
- MSQ Queensland tide tables
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from MSQ Beacon to Beacon Great Sandy Strait sheets GSS-3, GSS-5 and GSS-6 (with enlargements B River Heads and C Maryborough) (read 19 October 2026; each sheet carries its own 'information current to' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), Sector 5, the MSQ notices-to-mariners listings on publications.qld.gov.au (titles and dates checked 19 October 2026), the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 19 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages (checked 19 October 2026) and OpenStreetMap. NGA Pub. 127 paras 5.36 and 5.39. MSQ notice 483(T)/2026 identified by title and date.
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, pump-out map C2-335, speed-limit schedule, tide information) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Queensland legislation. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 and Transport Infrastructure (Waterways Management) Regulation 2012 © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0. Summarised; the authorised versions at legislation.qld.gov.au prevail.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are out of date; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles and some facility positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, data available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Others. Facts from local authority pages and notices (for example the Gold Coast Waterways Authority), volunteer marine rescue sites and businesses' own websites are cited for fact only and restated in our own words. Listing a business is not an endorsement.
Last checked: 19 October 2026.
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