Hinterland stores hold old treasures

Suncoast Times
November 2022
BY GEORGIA BEARD
Throughout the Sunshine Coast hinterland, antique stores often elude overcrowded tourist destinations, preferring to settle into the side streets and hidden sanctuaries of local communities. For the inexperienced sightseer, it will take more than a frivolous daytrip to unearth these stores. Just as the traitorous local reveals hidden gems to a probing tourist, here are a few antique stores scattered across the countryside, possessing memorabilia from the Industrial Revolution to the 90s.

Art Antiques Antlers

Art Antiques Antlers lies in the quaint Mapleton township on Obi Obi Road. Between local cafés, this store offers exclusive decorative pieces originating from the early 20th century. Among old-fashioned lounges, fine china and handmade toys, the business specialises in taxidermic antlers and deer mounts. Although prices tend to reach into the $100s and $1000s, curious browsing after a coffee stop will rouse your appreciation for antiquity.

Antique Gallery

Stowed away on Balmoral Ridge towards Landsborough Maleny Road, the Antique Gallery (named according to an obscure Google Maps entry) appears demure and unobtrusive. However, within its homely exterior, the store delights in all things bold and monumental. A horse-drawn cart, a penny-farthing bicycle, laundry mangles and sculpted armoires – these antiques, priced beyond $100, loom imperiously over the more diminutive relics.

If you’re unprepared for a vast haul, don’t feel intimidated. The gallery also offers collectable toys, mid-century household goods and vintage postcards ranging from $5 to $30. Meanwhile, visitors can peruse the cultural artefacts, the cabinets of militaria and the farm-and-fishing man-cave before moving on to Maleny proper.

Maleny Country Antiques and Collectables

Although situated on bustling Maple Street, this inconspicuous dealer seems invisible to tourists rubbernecking the main storefronts. Visitors can discover the labyrinthine building behind the Peace of Green Gallery. Stepping inside, you’ll find a cross between your grandparents’ home and a hoarder’s paradise.

Classic wartime tunes get your hips bouncing as you meander through endless rooms of vintage records, household wares and well-worn keepsakes. Magazines, letter knives, binoculars and spectacles can cost upwards of $20. If you plan on bringing kids, watch out for the album of vintage nude postcards! And once your feet grow weary from all that browsing, Maleny also offers a variety of cafés for a well-deserved rest.