The Wide Bay and Burnett Historical Society was established in Maryborough on 22 November 1955 as an initiative of the Maryborough School of Arts with the aim of collecting, preserving and researching the history of the Wide Bay and Burnett regions. The name of the society was changed to the Maryborough Wide Bay and Burnett Historical Society (MWBBHS) on 2 November 1962 due to imminent establishment of the Bundaberg Historical Society. The MWBBHS is the 3rd oldest local history society being a member of History Queensland.

The MWBBHS maintains a museum with items of cultural and historic interest. The society has a large collection (16,000+) of local and regional photographs, original and copies, dating from the 1860s. It also holds a significant collection (5000+) of original records, artefacts, memorabilia, books, research documents, etc. relating to the history of Maryborough and the Wide Bay and Burnett districts. The Museum is located on the ground floor of the Maryborough School of Arts building which housed Maryborough’s first library. A significant feature of the Museum is the Mezzanine which houses 3000+ library books, published 1764-1950s, on their original shelves.