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168 KM North-West of Brisbane
(Formed following the amalgamation of the Chinchilla, Murilla, Tara, Taroom and Wambo Shire Councils with the Dalby Town Council - 15 March 2008).
History – Explorer Allan Cunningham was the first European to travel through the region in 1827 but it was Ludwig Leichhardt who explored it more extensively in 1844, although Europeans such as Henry Dennis had settled in the area around what is now known as Dalby in 1841, while searching for land for his wealthy employer Charles Coxen. More pastoralists settled in the area in 1845, and again in 1849 after Sir Thomas Mitchell travelled through the region in 1846. Grazing and farming were initially the major industries for the region but in 1975 the discovery of bentonitie clay led to a growing new industry in mining. The establishment of a railway line led to further growth, however, closer settlement didn’t occur until 1945 following the soldier establishment schemes.
Indigenous Tribes – Barunggam, Bigambul, Jiman, Djakunda and Mandandanji people.
Industries – cotton, sunflowers, mining, timber, cattle, sheep, pigs, dairy, agriculture – wheat, sorghum, grain, barley and emus, ostriches, red claw crayfish and goats.
- Dalby - it's biggest attractions is 'the crossing' at Myall Creek, where Henry Dennis camped as he seeked land for his employer.
- Surat - the site of the very last Cobb & Co. coach run between Surat to Yuleba in 1924.
- Chinchilla - well known for a number of reasons including Chinchilla Sands which is one of Australia’s three most significant listed fossil sites. It is also known as the Melon capital with 25 percent of Australians melons. It was also the town responsible for helping to eradicate the prickly pear pest which was introduced into Australia in 1839 and reached Chinchilla by 1868. Chinchilla had a research station which tested the cactoblastis moth from South America in eradicating the pest.
- Condamine – known for the Condamine or bullfrog bells on stock – used by owners searching for roaming cattle.
- Dulacca – the site of the first push to eradicate prickly pear, which had at one stage covered 50 million acres of farming land.
- Drillham – like many communities in the region it originated as a railway service town in 1878
- Miles – original name was Dogwood Crossing, the name was changed in 1878 after William Miles – who was the member for Maranoa and Minister for Railways at the time. He also owned the famous Dulacca Station.
- Glenmorgan – home to the internationally recognised Myall Park Botanic Garden where a large collection of semi-arid plants can be found. Also the birthplace of the Grevillea ‘ Robyn Gordon’.
- Flinton – where settlers first began to establish themselves in the area during the 1840s.
- Meandarra – was nearly force to close down following the scourge of the pest – prickly pear.
- Moonie – famous because of the distinction of being Australia’s first commercial oil well, established in 1961.
- Tara – home to the famous Western Downs Champion Sheep Dog Trials.
- Taroom – the location where Australia’s biggest mass killing occurred, seeing the eventual wiping out of the local indigenous tribe
- Wandoan – established in the 1890s as a resting place for travellers, Wandoan retains the title.
222 KM South-West of Toowoomba
(Formed following the amalgamation of Goondiwindi Town Council with Inglewood and Waggamba Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – The region was first explored by Allan Cunningham in 1827. He had come across the MacIntyre River which he named after Captain Peter MacIntyre of the Hunter River – who had supplied horses and drays for the expedition. Three properties called Callandoon, Umbercollie and Old Goondiwindi were established in the area between 1838 and 1846. The township of Goondiwindi was formed initially as a campsite at the intersection of the properties as it was a meeting point for supplies transported from New South Wales. It was proclaimed a municipality in 1888 and since then has continued to be a stop over point for travellers with the town having access to five major highways – Barwon, Newell, Cunningham, Leichardt, and Bruxner.
Indigenous Tribes – Kamilaroi, Kambulwal and Bigambul people.
Industries – cotton, pork, beef, wheat, barley, grain, lucerne, fruit and vegetables, fishing, olives, peanuts, wool, timber, and cereals
- Goondiwindi - The name came from an aboriginal word “Goonawinna” meaning “resting place for birds”. Goondiwindi was the resting place for many wild birds in the area. Goondiwindi is also well known as the home of the Gunsynd racehorse nicknamed “GoondiwindiGrey”.
- Inglewood – Australia’s Olive Capital with more than 340,000 olive trees planted in the area.
- Texas – named such because the origins of the town bore similarities to a dispute over land between the Republic of Texas in the USA and Mexico happening around the same time it was established.
480 KM West of Brisbane
(Formed following the amalgamation of the Bendemere, Booringa, Bungil and Warroo Shire Councils with the Roma Town Council - 15 March 2008).
History – Sir Thomas Mitchell explored Bendemere Shire whilst following the Balonne River in the 1840s. He described the land around Roma as a 'champagne region'. His description convinced a man named Allan Macpherson to take up land in the area in 1847, calling it Mount Abundance. People began to settle in the different parts of the region as they searched for grazing land, with Ludwig Leichhardt travelling through the region in 1847. More settlers came to the region in the 1850s with large sheep holdings broken to provide more land for other people. The early industries were dairying and sheep raising but were changed to beef cattle and grain production following a downturn in the previous industries during the 1950s. During the 1860s a number of stations were established around the region and a Government Surveyor was commissioned to determine the town site of what was to be called Roma – about 20 miles west of Mt Abundance. The town was gazetted that year and was named after the wife of the then Queensland Governor, whose name was Countess Georgina Roma.
Indigenous Tribes – Mandandanji, Barunggam, Jiman, Kongabula, and Nguri people.
Industries – beef, grain, wool, timber, oil and natural gas
- Roma - Roma was the first town to be gazetted in Queensland and grew quickly following the establishment of a railway in 1880. Roma was also the first place in Australia where oil and gas was discovered and is now known as the cradle of the industry.
- Jackson – originally established to service the rail and rural industries in 1890 but has gradually declined over the years.
- Yuleba – contains the largest cypress timber stand in Australia and was the location of the last commercial Cobb and Co coach service in 1924
- Wallambilla – became a service centre following the construction of the Western Railway line in 1880.
- Injune – the gateway to the Carnarvons and home of award winning writer Frank Dalby Davison who wrote “Man-Shy” between 1919 and 1923.
- Muckadilla – a test bore was put down in the town in 1889 with tourists flocking to the area because of the water’s perceived healing powers.
223 KM south-west of Brisbane
(Formed following the amalgamation of the Stanthorpe Shire Council with the Warwick City Council - 15 March 2008).
History – Allan Cunningham was the first European to explore the area in 1827, but it was not until 1844 when squatters took up four major holdings in the area including Maryland, Pikedale, Glenlyon, and Ballandean. A solitary coach station was established during the 1850s but no town development took place until tin was discovered at Quart Pot Creek in 1871. It led to an influx of miners and the local township became known as Stannum – the Latin word for tin, but was later changed to Stanthorpe to mean tin village. The population grew during the 1880s following the development of the railway and settlement of German migrants in the area. The shire was established in 1903 and was the location of soldier settlement following World War I and II. However, a local catholic priest, Father Davadi saw the potential of the area as a fruit growing region. He encouraged the local miners to diversify as he foresaw problems for the local community if it didn’t have something to fall back onto when the tin ran out. This established the region as a major fruit and vegetable growing area and it is also well known as Queensland’s wine capital.
Indigenous Tribes – Kumuwal and Keinjan people
Industries – fruit and vegetables, sheep and cattle grazing, and wineries and tourism
132 KM west of Brisbane
(Formed following the amalgamation of the Toowoomba City Council with Cambooya, Clifton, Crows Nest, Jondaryan, Millmerran, Pittsworth and Rosalie Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – Allan Cunningham was the first European to explore the area region in 1827 and was so impressed with the rich farming and grazing area that he named the region the Darling Downs after the Governor of NSW Sir Ralph Darling. People began to settle there in the early 1840s, for cattle and sheep grazing purposes. Toowoomba was established in 1849 by William Horton who had sent two workmen to cut into the swampland area. They found bush worker Josiah Dent living in a tent in the area. Plans were quickly developed to turn it into a township. The first home was built by Thomas Alford who it is believed to have named the town Toowoomba. The township quickly developed as the news spread about the new settlement. During the 1850s the area was opened up to timber getters following the rapid growth of the Toowoomba settlement. This saw the development of a number of townships in the region. By 1867 the rail link to Toowoomba was opened. In 1892 Toowoomba was declared a township and by 1904 it was declared a city. The Second World War saw American and Australian troops settling in the area. It is now known as Australia’s largest inland city and is the garden capital of Queensland.
Indigenous Tribes – Giabel, Kambulwal, Jarowair, Kaiabara and Garumga people.
Industries – dairying, pigs, beef cattle, horse spelling/breeding, grain, vegetable production, wheat, cereal crops, sunflowers, peanut and honey production, tourism, manufacturing, education, pork, stone fruits, olives, flowers, emus, ostrich, deer and aquaculture.
- Acland – was the site of the oldest and smallest continuously worked mine in Queensland before it closed down in 1984.
- Cooyar – was devastated by flash flooding in the late 1900s, destroying the suspension bridge, a local hall, three houses and cars. The bridge was rebuilt in 1988.
- Goombungee – known as rural iron man country as it hosts the annual Iron Man and Iron Woman competition.
- Kulpi – the location of the one of Australia’s most prominent and successful Hereford and Red Angus studs at the Moorlands Host Farm.
- Peranga – 9000 hectares of land around this township was put under protection by the State Government to save the bunya pine species.
- Cambooya – home to a large sunflower fields
- Greenmount – lays claim to being the home of one of Australia’s famous writers, Arthur Hoey Davis who wrote “On Our Selection” in 1900.
- Clifton – holds an annual Iris and Rose show in October – the only one of its kind.
- Greenmount – final resting place of Jack Slattery who was one of the character’s in Steele Rudd’s books on life in the region.
- Nobby – where Steele Rudd (Arthur Hoey Davis) wrote his famous Dad and Dave stories. It was also the home of Sister Elizabeth Kenny – a nurse who successfully revolutionised the treatment of Polio.
- Crows Nest – was named after an aborigine named Jimmy Crow who use to use a local hollow tree as his resting place and provided information and directions to early travellers in the area.
- Haden – well-known for the brush turkey that was prevalent in its early days. A monument was erected there in 2002.
- Hampton
- Highfields – the location of a Pioneer Historical Village with rare and unusual collections of vintage machinery, including a 1928 Fire Engine, an original blacksmith shop and a Model T Ford.
- Meringandan – comes from the aboriginal word “Moorin Gandan” meaning fire clay.
- Jondaryan – the location of the state’s oldest and largest woolshed which was established in 1859 and was made into a museum in 1975.
- Oakey – well-known for a champion galloper – Bernborough was born and bred in the area in 1939 and went on to become a legend on the racecourse.
- Cecil Plains – one of the last townships to get a hotel. The town was divided about whether a drinking establishment should be established in the town and it was only after three votes that it was set up in 1938. The hotel was called “Victory”.
- Millmerran – name comes from two aboriginal words – Meel and Merran – meaning “eye” and “to look out”. It’s believed that this was because the town was located next to a look out which they regularly frequented.
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