Toowoomba

 DARLING DOWNS OVERVIEW 

The Darling Downs incorporates an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometres, stretching from Toowoomba in the East, West to Surat and Roma, North to Taroom and South to the NSW/QLD border. The population of the Darling Downs area is approximately 230,000, accommodating about 5.5% of Queensland’s total population.

The Darling Downs economy is diverse, incorporating agriculture, manufacturing, mining, health, defence and education, as the significant industries in the region. So important is the Darling Downs to the State’s economy that the area contributes over half of the product that this exported through the Port of Brisbane. Gross regional product in 2005/2006 was $8.9b for the area. Contributing about 16% of gross regional product, agriculture is the largest industry in the Darling Downs. Products include beef, pork, grain and dairy products.

Significant increases in mining activity are expected in the region with mining based employment becoming more prominent as extraction of commodities such as oil, liquid natural gas and  thermal coal in the South western areas of Queensland increases. This is set to become a major industry contributor in this area in the near future.

Hand in hand with this increased mining activity on the Western Darling Downs is the infrastructure required to make efficient the movement of resources to the coast for export. A national level rail link that will connect the southern states with the Surat energy basin will pass through Toowoomba at Charlton, where the largest freight hub in Southeast Queensland is being built. It will then head northwest to the Surat Basin and turn northeast to the deepwater Port of Gladstone for export. This rail link will also be utilized by other export industries such as grains and produce.

TOOWOOMBA OVERVIEW 

Toowoomba is Australia's largest inland regional city with a population of 97,000. It is situated 90 minutes by road west of Brisbane (130 km), and two hours by road to the Gold Coast and Sunshine coast.  Toowoomba is considered to be the capital of the Darling Downs, sitting in a strategic position on the Eastern edge of the Darling Downs at the top of the Great Dividing Range. Toowoomba lies on a major transport intersection between the Southern Capitals of Sydney and Melbourne, through to strategic Northern centres such as North Queensland, Darwin and Gladstone.

Queensland Government population growth figures for Toowoomba for the year to Jun 2006 indicate that Toowoomba grew at 1.2%. Toowoomba is currently on track to grow at 1.2% per year until 2026.

Two former Local Government Areas (LGAs) that lie adjacent to Toowoomba, namely Cambooya and Crows Nest Shire had the State's highest percentage rate of population growth over the period 1996 - 2006. Crows Nest grew at 4.2% and Cambooya enjoyed growth of 3.8% over this time. Crows Nest was the fastest growing area in the state in the year to Jun 2006, enjoying 6.3% population growth. Recent council amalgamations have seen both of these areas incorporated into the Toowoomba Regional Council. Cambooya town lies 19km southwest of Toowoomba, while Crows Nest is situated 33km to the North.

Industry in Toowoomba is diverse with the major contributors being manufacturing, health and community services, defence and education. Contributing $515m to GRP, manufacturing is the largest industry in Toowoomba. Locally manufactured products include fabricated metal, machinery components, food and beverages, tobacco, clothing and textiles.

Toowoomba itself has also begun to experience significant positive effects from the mining and resources boom that is currently underway in Queensland. The opening of the Surat basin railway line will connect the coal industry and mines to a coal export port in Toowoomba. This will magnify the regional economy. An extract from Toowoomba’s visionary future planning document, Toowoomba 2050 highlights this:

'The Surat Energy Resources Province, which stretches from Dalby to Taroom, west of Toowoomba, has the potential to be developed into a large-scale energy and industrial province, with associated flow on effects expected for Toowoomba'.

Creating Regional Economic Development by Value Adding to the Surat Energy Resources Province, Regional Economic Overview & Context, Final Report, AEC Group, February 2007

Education in Toowoomba is second to none, with Toowoomba boasting one of the highest ratios of education services per head of population in Australia. The city's educational establishments currently facilitate 26,000 students. Serviced by many government and non-government schools, a TAFE and the University of Southern Queensland, education is an important industry and subsequently an important economic driver for the city.

Approximately 26,000 students are enrolled at USQ University of Southern Queensland including international students from more than 100 nationalities. Of the enrolled students, around 5,982 study on-campus. It has the fifth largest enrolment of international students in Australia due to its distance education expertise, English language courses and university bridging courses. The university contributes more than $61 million annually to the regional economy and was awarded the 2000/2001 University of the Year - Good Universities Guide for 'developing the e-university'.

Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE has eight campuses spread throughout the Darling Downs and South West Queensland. Courses include: arts and media; building and construction; information technology and engineering; specialist studies in horticulture and agriculture; and hospitality.

FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE

Charlton Wellcamp Industrial Hub - a national level freight hub is to be established at Charlton which lies 11km West of the CBD. The freight hub will be the junction point between major east west and north south rail lines as well as the Warrego and Gore Hwys and in time, the second range crossing which will come in from the North of Toowoomba.

Airport Upgrade - To facilitate an expanding fly in fly out mining workforce residing in Toowoomba City, approval has been granted to upgrade the current Toowoomba airport to facilitate larger aircraft movement. The upgrade will not only benefit the burgeoning resources industry in Toowoomba, but plans are also underway for  a regular passenger service between Toowoomba and Sydney. 

Water Infrastructure - One of the contributors to a reduced rate of capital growth over the last three years in Toowoomba has been a concern about the future water supply to the city. Issues surfaced in 2006 when a pilot referendum was held on recycled water to use as a potential solution to water supply issues. The result of the referendum saw the rejection of this proposal. Since then, the city council and state parliament have been working together to ensure that Toowoomba’s water supply is guaranteed into the future, providing initiatives through a major infrastructure project due for completion in early 2010. The project will see Toowoomba’s dams connected to the rest of the Southeast Queensland water grid via a pipeline from Wivenhoe dam through to Cressbrook dam.

Second Range Crossing - A proposed second range crossing which allows east west road travelers to bypass Toowoomba city will be welcomed by both Toowoomba local residents and the wider Darling Downs business community. At an estimated cost of $1.4bn, the crossing will exit the Warrego highway at Helidon to the east of Toowoomba, pass over the Great Dividing Range to the North of the city via two tunnels and rejoin at Charlton, where the Warrego and Gore Highways will also intersect. The timeline for this project is currently the subject of much political debate. Presently, approximately $40m has been spent on feasibility studies and two, 700m long pilot tunnels through the range. With the recent change of Government, further funding allocation to complete the project is not yet guaranteed.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY & LIFESTYLE

Beautifully renovated heritage homes are a feature of Toowoomba. In newer residential areas there are many styles and sizes to choose from in a variety of bushland, parkland or estate settings. Housing prices provide a nice surprise when compared to prices in metropolitan areas with the median house price being $278,000 (Apr 2008). Added to this, Toowoomba is consistently rated amongst the lowest in Queensland for retail costs in all groups.

Housing affordability - with a current median house price of $278,000 (Apr 2008), Toowoomba is relatively very affordable compared to many other regions in Australia, and particularly in Queensland. It has experienced an annual rate of capital growth of 9% in residential property over the last ten years.

Toowoomba has more than 1,800 Ha of open space, made up of sporting fields, heritage parks, gardens and scenic parks among them ; Queen's Park, Laural Bank Park, State Rose Garden and the Japanese Gardens at USQ. The Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery is the oldest regional art gallery in Queensland. The Empire Theatre is the largest regional theatre in Australia.

Toowomba has one Public and three Private Hospitals with over 200 General Practitioners Specialists, plus in excess of 70 dentists including orthodontists and other dental specialists.

The town is a prime retail trading centre with multiple facilities in Toowoomba’s premier Central Business District Shopping Centre – Grand Central Shopping Centre features Coles, Myer, Target, Birch Carroll and Coyle five screen cinema complex, 500 seat Foodcourt and over 135 speciality shops. Plans are also underway for more shopping centres to be developed to service the expanding Western side of the city.

Residents enjoy abundant playing fields, indoor arenas, aquatic facilities, indoor arenas, clubs and associations.

CLIMATE

Toowoomba’s climate offers a genuine four season year, offering magnificent temperate Spring and Autumn conditions. Toowoomba’s altitude keeps winter temperatures quite low with night time minimums below 5 deg not uncommon. Summer in Toowoomba is characterised by warm to hot days through January/February (averaging 27 deg), but night time temperatures remain cool and pleasant. Humidity in Tooowoomba is low in comparison to the Eastern Coastal regions of Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.