Neither of us had been to Toowoomba before so did not know what to expect. We thought it would be cold and it certainly was. We had heard that it had some wonderful gardens – and it certainly had those a-plenty, although we will have to return in Spring to really appreciate them. We greatly enjoyed the other tourist spots – the Cobb & Co museum and the National Parks and reserves. But one of the highlights for us was the fabulous street art, even if it was difficult to find.
We visited Toowoomba between 12 July and 19 July 2019. We had been at the Gold Coast for a week, then we had planned on going up to Brisbane after that. But when the flu just would not go away we had to forego visiting family and sharing our germs. We had another paid-for booking in a week’s time so we opted for a week in Toowoomba. Unfortunately we got there for one of the coldest spells for many a year, we were told. But even so it was a very good decision.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Gold Coast > Toowoomba ~ 182kms.
History
Giabal and Jarowair are recognised as the two main Aboriginal groups of the Toowoomba with the Giabal to the south and the Jarowair to the north of the city. Their traditional landscape changed dramatically with the settlement of Drayton in the 1840s and the pastoral expansion west. Those Aboriginal Australians that survived the conflict of this time were pushed to the fringe of society in camps and later moved to missions.
Colonial history traces back to 1816 when English botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham arrived in Australia from Brazil. In June 1827 he discovered 16,000 km2 of rich farming and grazing land, which became known as the Darling Downs. Thirteen years later George and Patrick Leslie established Toolburra Station, 90 km south-west of Toowoomba. From then settlers arrived on the Downs and established a township of bark-slab shops called The Springs, which was soon renamed Drayton. Land for the town was first surveyed in 1849, then again in 1853.
Towards the end of the 1840s Drayton, now effectively a suburb of Toowoomba, had its own newspaper, general store, trading post and the Royal Bull’s Head Inn, which was built by William Horton and still stands today. Drayton was the first town established beyond the Great Dividing Range in Queensland. Drovers and wagon masters spread the news of the new settlement. In 1852 the squatter Thomas Alford settled to the north of Drayton and called his property Toowoomba. The origin of this name is thought to be a corruption of the Aboriginal word “Tchwampa” meaning ‘water sit down’ or ‘place where the rushes grow’.
Toowoomba became the stopping point on the route from Moreton Bay (Brisbane) to the pastoral properties on the Darling Downs. It was a natural rest place for people who had spent most of the day moving up the steep slopes of Gorman’s Gap. By 1858 Toowoomba was growing fast. It had a population of 700, three hotels and many stores and a new municipality was proclaimed in 1860. Drayton developed separately until the 1860s when it declined because of the increasing importance of Toowoomba. Toowoomba was officially declared a municipality in 1860.
In 1867 the railway reached Toowoomba, with the Railway Station built in 1874. 1876 also saw a branch of the Bank of New South Wales opened, the gaol and Court House built, and the School of Arts and a number of churches built. With the increased trade the town blossomed and a large numbers of elegant buildings were erected and the trees, which are now a distinctive part of the city’s appearance, were planted.
In 1892 Toowoomba was formally recognised as a town and was declared a city in 1904.
Today Toowoomba is the largest inland settlement in Queensland and one of the largest inland cities in Australia. It occupies a commanding position atop the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, 700 metres above sea level. It has been described as the ‘Regional Capital of the Darling Downs’ and ‘The Garden City’. It is a city to be enjoyed for its history, its elegant buildings, its superb parks (particularly in spring) and the very impressive Cobb & Co Museum. [I read it is the second largest inland city in Australia after Canberra]
Day 1 – Fri 12 July – To Toowoomba
A fine day, but cold late in the afternoon up on the escarpment. It was a short drive from the Gold Coast so we left at around 9:30 – no hurry. We drove up the freeway towards Brisbane, having set our satnav for the address where we were staying. It was our new car – a Subaru Outback – and we wanted to test things out. But at around Beenleigh, Molly (the satnav), told us to take the next exit, which not knowing the area at all, we did. But it soon dawned on us, as we traversed suburban streets and traffic lights, that we should have checked the settings for Molly. They must have been set to avoid toll roads. So we quickly found our way back onto the motorway despite Molly’s protests. She is very persistent – every few hundred metres “make a u turn when you can”….
The motorway goes virtually all the way to Toowoomba, and it is an interesting drive through rolling hills and farms – and villages and towns. Its quite a busy road.
At one point with Kerry driving we were in the fast lane on cruise control doing a bit over 100 when we saw a car come out from our right, slowly crossing the median strip, but then continuing on to turn into our lane right in front of us!!! Luckily there was not a car in the left lane and I could swerve there to get around – a very close call. That driver should not be driving!
The end of the drive is the worst bit – the incredible steep crawl up the range to the town. There are so many trucks, with slow trucks overtaking even slower trucks, with cars and cars with caravans trying to get out of the slow lane, and cars in the “fast” lane waiting to gun it – it is a nightmare. And suddenly we get to the top and are instantly in the town – all a bit manic.
The tourist information office is only a short distance into town and we stopped there, shuddering as so many trucks stormed past on the highway right through the middle of suburbia. One of the first things we learned was that an east-west town diversion is being constructed which will take the trucks out of the town and onto a massive viaduct down the escarpment. We had seen the viaduct as we drove up. This will make an enormous difference to Toowoomba and make it even more of a tourist attraction.
Armed with maps, booklets and brochures we left the TIO and drove to a shopping centre to get the basics. We are staying in a 2 bedroom cottage (Air BnB) but can’t get in until the cleaning is finished. As we leave the shopping centre we get the call from the owner and are soon in and unpacking. It is quite a quaint little cottage and suits us really well. Not too small, but a real cosy feels feel.
Day 2 – Sat 13 July – Toowoomba Tourist Drive 1
It was a freezing night and a very cold start to the day, with increasing winds making for an uncomfortable day. Strong cold winds persisted.
We were provided with the map for Tourist Drive 1 – not that we saw any others – which provides an excellent drive around the main tourist attractions of town. This gave us a good overview of the town. We joined the Drive at point 14, at the sales yards and schools. Next up was the Laurel Bank Park and scented gardens, with croquet club at one end. These are delightful gardens but clearly not at their best in winter. They would be really magnificent in spring or summer. Maybe we need to come back.
We saw many lovely old Queenslander houses on the drive around, especially Bendemere – a glorious old home. And a great looking house being raised up as part of a major refurbishment.
As we drove around town it was striking how different the homes up here are in architectural style compared to the cities and towns in Victoria and SA – not surprisingly as the style is dictated by the environment. We saw so many lovely homes here – could have taken so many photos.
The drive took us into the city and we parked and walked around a city block as the map showed. Parking is a bit of a nightmare – it’s all meter parking even on a Saturday morning with few people around. There are lovely building in the town centre, including the Court House, Old Post office, the old police station, Empire Theatre and many others. The Empire Theatre puts on productions all the time – if we didn’t feel so poorly, would definitely be there in the next couple of evenings.
In town we got our first look at the incredible street art in this town. Stunning stuff.
The drive took us around to Prince Henry Heights where we did the drive around the viewing loop – great views to the north and the Gt Dividing Range, and to the east the vast Lockyer valley extending towards Ipswich and Brisbane.
From there it was on to Picnic Point passing many very large homes perched on the clifftop with amazing views. There is some serious real estate up there. Picnic Point is a nice place with what I think is an artificial waterfall next to where we parked. We walked up to the lookout for some more great views.
We did the Tour Memorial Drive which takes you down the mountain before rounding a loop for the return trip. I got one last picture of Tabletop Mountain. Its quite an amazing landscape looking out – so many different shaped mountains and hills – and Tabletop is so distinctive. We can see a walking trail heading up there – such a pity about the flu 🙁
We drove south to the Japanese Gardens but did not stop. We aimed to return for a walk through. Then we got to Drayton, the original settlement of the area. The reason to be here is to see the Royal Bulls Head Inn, established in 1847 by ex-convict William Horton. The Inn was constructed to offer lodgings and stables, host events, in addition to maintaining a solid bar trade. Horton extended the Bull’s Head Inn in 1859 by constructing what we see today, a then luxurious two-storey hotel that even included a bathroom! Following an 1860 visit by the Governor, it became the Royal Bull’s Head Inn. The Inn was acquired by the National Trust of Queensland over forty years ago. Since then it has been restored to its late nineteenth century glory beloved by locals and travellers alike. Multiple outbuildings, furniture, artefacts and original gardens layouts have been conserved to share with visitors. Unfortunately it was closed – it only opens on the first Sunday of each month.
In the same area we saw the lovely old St Matthews Anglican church.
Having completed the circuit we found a Woolies and stocked up.
Day 3 – Sun 14 July – Hanging around Toowoomba
Today was a lazy “escape from the cold day”. We mostly kept warm and read but also visited a few shops to get some warmer clothes. When we left home we had not planned to go to Toowoomba so had only packed for a Brisbane winter.
Day 4 – Mon 15 July – Gardens
The weather was clear skies but with a bitterly cold strong wind, as we drove into town to walk through the Queens Park Gardens. Work started on the gardens in 1875, on what was originally the Government Camping Reserve. The area had been used for the Christmas races in 1860 and clay was extracted from the site to make bricks. The land was a mess. But today is is a really lovely garden even in winter. There are magnificent trees, many camellias and azaleas in flower, and so many flower beds. There were also many gardeners planting a mass of flowers and bulbs that will look stunning in Spring. Oh to come back for the Carnival of Flowers. Maybe next year.
Towards the centre of the Gardens stands the Alfred Thomas Memorial to honour a prominent local figure. Nearby, a vintage Naval cannon takes up its position facing Campbell Street. It was donated to the people of Toowoomba from Brisbane city, early in 1911.
Other features of the park’s built environment are a pair of National Bank Columns, donated by the National Bank of Australia in 1987, and a Stone Entrance Arch. This sandstone arch was completed as part of a Council upgrade of the gardens in August 1987.
We had parked the car in Godsall St – there are some really lovely homes along the street.
We next drove around to Margaret St along the southern edge of the Park to look at the original old building referred to in the Brochure. At 100 Margaret is a lovely home circa 1910.
Other houses along this stretch are used as offices and some are cafes and restaurants. One is even a theatre – the Repertory – and another was a Womens hospital, now a cafe.
90 Margaret St was the 1864 Court House, later a woman reformatory in 1882. It was bought in 1967 by the DeMolay Order. DeMolay International, founded in Kansas City in 1919, is an international fraternal organisation for young men ages 12 to 21. It is named for Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Would be interesting to do a bit of research into this – always loved the stories of the Knights Templar….. BET they don’t allow women access though.
We crossed the street to look at the commemorative avenue of trees.
We realised that we had parked the car in the Caledonian Estate, which was originally used by the Caledonian Society for its sports.The name was retained when the first land sales fo the area took place in 1904. But we did not have the brochure with us so only had a drive through look at the area – a few lovely homes.
Driving back through town we stopped at an amazing building next to a massive church. This was the St Lukes Anglican schoolroom and church, first established in 1857. The schoolroom is really different in a good way.
Next up was the The Japanese Garden, ‘Ju Raku En’, roughly translated to mean ‘to enjoy peace and longevity in a public place’. This was opened in 1989. Located over three hectares on the northern side of USQ Toowoomba, the site is jointly owned by USQ and the Council.
The Garden is one of Australia’s largest and most traditionally designed Japanese stroll garden, and it truly is a place of peace and tranquility. It is a presentation of Buddhist paradise with the celestial sea (the lake) lapping the rocky shores of the three islands where the immortals are said to dwell. The material world is the outer edge of the lake and a symbolic journal to paradise may be made by crossing one of the four bridges to the islands. Ju Raku En is a relatively young garden and it will take many years for it to be considered complete. And so many water fowl as well as geese…. reminds me I must buy some more goose fat when we return home!
Day 5 – Tue 16 July – Cobb & Co
Yes, it was another crystal clear day and very cold – but with reduced wind, not as cold as the last few days.
We went to see the Cobb & Co Museum. This is part of the Queensland Museum Network and home to the National Carriage Collection. It was originally established to house The Cobb & Co. Collection of Mr W. R. F. Bolton consisting of over thirty 19th Century horse drawn vehicles which he collected and had restored over a period of more than thirty years. In 1982 a Deed of Gift between Mr Bolton’s daughter and the Queensland govern was entered into and the Museum was opened in 1978.
The Museum now houses over 50 horse drawn vehicles in excellent condition, including sturdy drays and farm wagons, that tell the story of European settlement on the Darling Downs, while sulkies and buggies demonstrate transportation imported to Australia during the 1880’s. Elaborate Phaetons, Victoria Carriages, and a Landau, said to have been owned by a Governor of Queensland, give a glimpse of the times when life’s pace was a little slower. Three original Cobb & Co. coaches, including the last coach that ran from Yuleba to Surat in 1924, complete the collection.
The placard displaying the Melbourne to Bendigo trip is interesting.
Cobb & Co. coach No. 100 is special as in 1963 Mr. Bolton arranged at his cost, the longest coach journey ever undertaken, a re-enactment of a Cobb & Co. coach trip from Port Douglas to Melbourne via the inland route. Donations were raised for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and passengers were taken on board the coach during the journey, paying a fee for travel. The Royal Flying Doctor Service received over ₤26,000 from the event.
There are also some of the first horseless carriages (cars) on display, which still retained the large wheels in country areas as the ruts in the road were too deep for motor car wheels.
The 2010 $8 million redevelopment of the Museum included the construction of a Factory area to house facilities for a range of heritage trades. Workshops in heritage trades are now held including wheel making, blacksmithing, silversmithing, stonemasonry, millinery, leather crafting, felting, glass art, calligraphy, leather plaiting, and creative bookmaking are conducted throughout the year. None of these were going for our visit – we only saw one lady hand weaving.
A side exhibit is for the TV show the Bush Mechanics. Only a short series, but it was enormously popular – the EJ Holden from the first episode is on display.
After the Museum we looked at some lovely homes along Campbell St.
Next was the railway station which is a magnificent building. There are still services to and from Brisbane but the journey can take 3 hours. We also discovered a fabulous antique shop – massive place right opposite the railway station. Some very interesting old items, but a lot of junk too.
Day 6 – Wed 17 July – Spring Gully
Another clean and cold day in Toowoomba. But Kerry has developed a skin infection and needed to see a doctor. I rang one medical centre who were booked out for 2 days, so tried the second one… Yes, come in – the waiting time is about an hour they said. It was just down the road, but took ages to get there because of median strips and lack of turning areas. Over 2 hours of waiting before I finally got to see a doctor.
After that we had a very quick lunch and drove out to see the Spring Bluff Railway Station. We drove north on the New England Highway just to the north of town, then turned right onto Murphys Creek Rd. The Station is just off to the left of that about 5km down on McCormack Drive – all well signposted. It is a very pretty drive down Murphys Ck Rd – steeply going down hill with lots of hills and farmland on either side.
Often called the most beautiful railway station in SE Qld, Spring Bluff is a heritage listed site located on the main railway line between Ipswich and Toowoomba. Its significance stems from 150 years of railway history and the attraction of its beautiful landscaped gardens. The station was decommissioned in August 1992. The importance of the station was recognised with the formation of the Spring Bluff Railway Station Trust to preserve and maintain the grounds and station. The National Trust of Queensland listed the Main Range Railway on its Register in March 1994. They do have steam train trips every so often – would be pretty special on a beautiful day.
Even in the dead of winter, with few flowers about, the Station is indeed extremely pretty. It just has that certain something. All the flower beds were fully planted ready to blossom in Spring. We got talking to an older man who was doing some maintenance – he told us that the Gardener who maintains the gardens here is employed by the Botanic Gardens and has his work cut out – no rain in ages, but he manages to keep the gardens flourishing somehow. Current main threat, besides lack of water, is bush turkeys.
Leaving Spring Bluff we went to Highfields. We were somewhat disappointed in this – we expected to get to a quaint little village but it really was just a string of shops and small groups of shops. One of these groups was for the Chocolate Cottage. I had read about the chocolate shop and thought “YES – its going to be a little olde-world traditional chocolate shop”. NUP – $20 for a couple of tiny chocolates that don’t look like they are made locally and it just feels like a tourist trap. I can just see bus loads of our overseas tourists buying the whole place up.
On the way back into town we stopped at a couple of lookouts to a great view over the Lockyer Valley and to also see the new viaduct for the town diversion. This is very impressive.
Back in town we saw amazing street art – Toowoomba is famous for this and it is brilliant. We had the information booklet which gave the vague addresses of where to find the art – pity they weren’t marked on a map. We walked around from Duggan St – we could not find Duggan Lane, which the tourist booklet told us to use as the starting point. We followed the list in the booklet but struggled to find many of the exceptional ones. We wandered for miles. But we did get some wonderful artworks.
Day 7 – Thu 18 July – National Parks
It was clear skies in the morning but the cold wind was back. We got out our heavy weather jackets and headed north again up the New England Highway to Ravensbourne and Crows Nest National Parks. At Hampton, maybe 30km out, we turned right for Ravensbourne – all well-signposted. The NP is about 15km out.
At the NP we drove to the Cedar Block day use area to see the Gus Beutal Lookout. This is amazing with stunning views.
We then went back to the Blackbean day use area. The brochure describes the NP as follows: Piccabeen palms, ferns, elkhorns and fungi thrive in the cool, moist remnants of rainforest and wet eucalypt forest along the edge of the Great Dividing Range. The rainforest is slowly overtaking the open forest. Gullies with trickling streams are moist and inviting, while exposed ridges are warm and dry. Unfortunately, with the extreme drought this area is experiencing, as are so many areas, the forests are bone dry. Not a drop of moisture in sight. We only walked the Rainforest Circuit (1.7km) and it was a good forest walk. The highlight was the stunning Sydney Blue gums – wonderful old trees. And many huge old Cedars.
From there it was a short drive back to Hampton and then onto the Crows Nest NP.
We turned off the Highway soon after we got to the town. Another short drive took us to the park and then to the day use area (not the camping area). The brochure states that: After good rain, water tumbles through eucalypt forest along a series of boulder-strewn cascades, before plunging 20m over Crows Nest Falls into a waterhole surrounded by steep, granite cliffs. Unfortunately the BIG DRY meant that there was zero flow in the river, only a few stagnant pools.
We took the walk alongside Crows Nest Creek – it is only a little over a km to the falls. The Creek was bone dry. The Cascades was an impressive range of rock features sticking up from the river bed.
The Kauyoo Pool was a very small stagnant pond of not nice looking water. You could see where the pool would be in more normal times, with a large sandy area which would normally be covered with beautiful water. There was a man and his son there with a metal detector – looking for rings, he explained. In the cold water, fingers shrink when people swim and rings do drop off. But there was nothing for them that day.
We walked on and at Bottlebrush Pool we descended to the Creek – there was a surprising amount of water in the pool. It was a very pretty area, with some good reflections from the water.
At the Crows Nest Falls lookout, the Falls are dry – not a drop of water going over the top. But the pool is there and we can see the points where the young and stupid climb over and jump into the pool. Lives have been lost doing this and the story of one young lad on a poster is a sad one. With his family and mates still dealing with this tragic loss.
We did not go on to Koonin lookout which would have doubled the length of our walk.
We went into Crows Nest town and got lunch. There is not much there, except the lovely old post office which is much in need of a little TLC.
That completed a really good week in Toowoomba.
To see photos from this trip, click here