The Toowoomba Region is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

(LGA) on the border of

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

and

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

regions of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. Established in 2008, the LGA was preceded by several other local government authorities with histories extending back to the early 1900s and beyond. In 2018–2019, it had a A$491 million budget, of which A$316 million is for service delivery and A$175.13 million capital (infrastructure) budget. In the , the Toowoomba Region had a population of 173,204 people.

History

Prehistory

Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Toowoomba Region existed as eight distinct local government areas: the City of Toowoomba and the Shires of Cambooya, Clifton, Crows Nest, Jondaryan,

Millmerran Millmerran , known as Domville between 1 June 1889 and 16 November 1894, is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Millmerran had a population of 1,545 p ...

, Pittsworth, and Rosalie. The City had its beginning in the Toowoomba Municipality which was proclaimed on 24 November 1860 under the ''Municipalities Act 1858'', a piece of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

legislation inherited by Queensland when it became a separate colony in 1859. William Henry Groom, sometimes described as the "father of Toowoomba", was elected its first mayor. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the ''Local Government Act''. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Toowoomba became a town council on 31 March 1903. On 29 October 1904, Toowoomba was proclaimed a City. The Toowoomba Region also encompassed four of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' on 11 November 1879: Clifton, Highfields, Jondaryan and Rosalie. On 31 March 1903, these became Shires. Between 1913 and 1917, a number of changes occurred: the Millmerran and Pittsworth areas voted to split from Jondaryan on 24 April 1913, whilst in the same year Crows Nest became a shire, and in 1914, Cambooya followed. On 19 March 1949, Highfields and Drayton were abolished, with their land going to Crows Nest and Toowoomba respectively.

2008 amalgamation

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the eight areas amalgamate. Its main reason for recommending such a large area was that the region was a growth area and a new organisation would have political advocacy capabilities on behalf of the region. Two other key factors were that

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

's suburbs had expanded well beyond the City of Toowoomba and a new entity would be able to manage the entire area under one plan. Additionally, environmental and natural resource challenges could, in the Commission's view, be better met by an organisation with "a scale and capacity to undertake... management across the region in an integrated manner." Four of the councils, Jondaryan, Millmerran, Pittsworth and Rosalie were rated as financially weak by the Queensland Treasury. While no council had supported the Commission's model, most were willing to consider some form of amalgamation, and the Commission considered whether Millmerran should be united with Dalby or Toowoomba carefully. In the end, its proposal was unchanged. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Since amalgamation

Council

Toowoomba Regional Council is unsubdivided and its elected body consists of 10 councillors and a mayor. Neither the Labor Party nor the Liberal National Party officially endorse candidates for council.

Current composition

The current council, elected in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, is:

Mayors

* Peter Taylor (2008-12). Elected 2008, defeated 2012. * Paul Antonio (2012-23). Elected 2012, 2016, 2020. Retired 2023. * Geoff McDonald (2023-current). Elected by council 2023, Elected 2024.

Election results

2024

Towns and localities

The Toowoomba Region includes the following settlements:

Toowoomba suburbs

* Blue Mountain Heights¹ * Centenary Heights *

Cotswold Hills The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the be ...

² * Cranley * Darling Heights * Drayton *

East Toowoomba East Toowoomba is a residential Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in Toowoomba in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , East Toowoomba had a population of 5,953 people. Geography East Toowoomba is by road from the T ...

* Glenvale² * Harlaxton * Harristown * Highfields¹ * Kearneys Spring * Middle Ridge * Mount Kynoch *

Mount Lofty Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. The mountain's su ...

* Newtown * North Toowoomba * Prince Henry Heights * Rangeville *

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

* Rockville * South Toowoomba * Toowoomba City * Torrington² * Wilsonton * Wilsonton Heights

Close Regional Localities

* Birnam¹ * Charlton² * Finnie³ * Gowrie Junction² * Hodgson Vale³ * Mount Rascal³ * Preston⁴ * Spring Bluff¹ * Top Camp³ * Vale View³ * Wellcamp² ¹ - split with the former Shire of Crows Nest ² - split with the former Shire of Jondaryan ³ - split with the former Shire of Cambooya> ⁴ - split with

Lockyer Valley Region The Lockyer Valley Region is a local government area (LGA) in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia. The region is located between the cities of Ipswich and Toowoomba, and is bordered by the Somerset and Southern Downs ...

Regional localities

Cambooya area: * Cambooya * East Greenmount * Greenmount * Westbrook Clifton area: * Back Plains * Clifton * Ellangowan * Kings Creek * Nobby * Pilton * Ryeford *

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

Crows Nest area: * Crows Nest * Cabarlah *

Cawdor Cawdor () is a village and parish in the Highland council area, Scotland. The village is south-southwest of Nairn and east of Inverness. The village is in the Historic County of Nairnshire. History The village is the location of Cawdor ...

* Djuan * Emu Creek * Geham * Glenaven * Haden * Hampton * Meringandan * Pechey * Pierces Creek * Ravensbourne Jondaryan area: * Oakey * Athol * Aubigny * Evanslea * Gowrie Mountain * Grassdale * Jondaryan Millmerran area: *

* Bringalily *

Cecil Plains Cecil Plains is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Cecil Plains had a population of 380 people. Geography Cecil Plains is in the Darling Downs ...

* Domville * Lavelle * Lemontree * Millmerran Downs *

Pampas The Pampas (; from Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all o ...

* Tummaville * Turallin * Yandilla Pittsworth area: * Pittsworth * Biddeston * Bongeen * Branchview * Brookstead * Broxburn * Felton * Irongate * Kincora *

Linthorpe Linthorpe is a neighbourhood in Middlesbrough in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It borders the neighbourhoods of Acklam, Ayresome, Grove Hill, the town centre and Whinney Banks. History Deriving from 'Leofa's villa ...

* Mount Tyson * Nangwee * North Branch * Norwin * Rossvale * Scrubby Mountain * Southbrook * Springside * St Helens * Stoneleigh * Yarranlea Rosalie area: * Goombungee * Acland *

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

* Glencoe * Gowrie Junction * Meringandan West * Upper Yarraman * Yarraman Mixed-area localities: * Bowenville * Gowrie Mountain *

Kingsthorpe Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of ...

* Nobby * Wyreema

Economy

Economic growth potential in the region has been identified through retail, construction and the development of energy resources found in the Surat Basin and in

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

. As well as the development of the newly built Wellcamp Airport and Second Range Crossing, and proposed Inland Rail the city is set to become one of the largest logistical centres in the country as well as a major inland port.

Demographics

The total population recorded at each census before the foundation of the Toowoomba Region combines the population of its component entities prior to their amalgamation in 2008. Its population was officially recorded for the first time in the 2011 Census.

Toowoomba Regional Library Services

The Toowoomba Regional Council operates the following libraries: * Toowoomba City Library *

Local History Library *

library * Clifton Library * Crows Nest Library (also known as the John French Library) * Goombungee Library * Highfields Library *

Library * Oakey Library * Pittsworth Library * Quinalow Library * Yarraman Library * and a mobile library which visits the communities of Bowenville, Cambooya, Cooyar, Gowrie Junction, Greenmount, Haden, Jondaryan,

, Kulpi, Meringandan West, Mount Tyson, Westbrook, and Wyreema. The Toowoomba Regional Libraries also provide a range of services including (but not limited to) free computer and internet access, free computer classes, and a Homebound Library Service for those who are temporarily or permanently home bound.

References

External links

Toowoomba.org - Toowoomba's Homepage
{{Local Government Areas of Queensland

Darling Downs 2008 establishments in Australia