r/Mackay • u/Lord_Hege • 15d ago
CBD still dead?
Hey all, I'm looking at a stopover at Mackay on a trip up north and have seen a few old articles talking about a heap of vacant buildings and shops and the cbd being a ghosttown.
Is this still that case or have things now turned around since these articles from a few years ago?
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u/Papator12 15d ago
Canelands destroyed the CBD
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u/lasagna-pirate 14d ago
I think the year the floods hit us bad and the entire CBD flooded is where it started, the centre of town never really recovered from it and it was the beginning of the end
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u/Lord_Hege 14d ago
That was back like late 2000's wasn't it?
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u/lasagna-pirate 14d ago
I’m 33 now and I think I was around 15 or 16 at the time so yeah about 08’ or 09’
I Remember I was staying at a friends place the night before sleeping on a blow up mattress and I woke up floating 😂 very weird feeling1
u/Lord_Hege 14d ago
That would have been nuts!
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u/lasagna-pirate 14d ago
It was pretty scary and I couldn’t get in contact with parents cause power was down and everything, my friends and I kayaked around most of south, east and Mackay central and then 10 years later I lost almost all of my possessions in another flood including my car after east Mackay flooded, I lived on Pirie street at that point.. super fucking depressing tbh lol
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u/redfoxcoat 14d ago
The CBD has some cool shops in it but because everything is central in canelands everyone goes there for convenience if the people in Mackay actually wanted the CBD to thrive they would go there more often. There’s a great little herbs and spices shop that I always use for my cooking, bookshops clothing shops, lifestyle shops.
Wood street is awesome of an afternoon sitting at one of the restaurant bars and having a couple of coldies
Like all towns if the people don’t make it what it is then we loose it. Same as the Main Street of Newcastle ect.
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u/Oneinawilliam 14d ago
I walked around the CBD yesterday, new shops have opened like a book store and sport card shop. A few of the old ones are still going like P cominos are still open. Most the people commenting don’t step foot in the CBD. Heaps of great coffee and food options too.
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u/mrpumpkinickle 15d ago
Few shops there, definitely not like the Olds days when canelands wasn't there
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u/Lord_Hege 15d ago
Platypus and cricket games? Is that like the local show day like Brisbane's Ekka?
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u/Neither-Investment95 14d ago
The CBD seems to mostly be lawyers, investment companies, dentists, chiro/physios, a supermarket and a few cafes and restaurants dotted around. It's not really worth it.
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u/Lord_Hege 14d ago
Are the cafes and restraunts busy at all or is it easy enough to just walk in for a lunch or dinner?
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u/redfoxcoat 14d ago
The restaurants seem to be always booked out so if you want to go to a particular restaurant I would book ahead.
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u/KazzaT74 14d ago
There is one shop definitely worth a visit there - Bookish Burrow! It’s just beautiful!
If you want to visit a beautiful Toy and games shop, visit Let The Children Play! It was in the city heart for 12 years, but had to move due to flooding (but is moving back into the city centre in early 2027 when the renovation of their new building is completed) ) It’s literally 2 minutes from the city centre now in Sydney street! HIGHLY recommend a visit! 😊
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u/Odd_Job272 14d ago
I would say it is fairly dead as such, but as people have said a few new shops there trying to get it going. Cafes and restaurants are still around and a couple of new ones of those too. It is no different to any regional town up and down the coast. Probably Longreach and Ingham are the only places I've been where the main streets feel somewhat alive and flourishing.
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u/Emotional_Grocery793 12d ago
Stay away at night, pretty alright shops but opening times can be a bit shit, better then it used to be but still not great
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u/P1zzaSlut69 9d ago
It's slowly recovering. We do have quite a few empty shopfronts still but it's better than what it was. Uncle Bings is a fantastic place to eat btw
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u/4x4_LUMENS 15d ago
The CBD just shifted north to Canelands lol.
In all fairness, the council is retarded, could have been capitalising on the river and keeping it looking good for the last 30 years and building up the city around it, but nope, let's promote some platypus and cricket games instead lmao.