53-695: Oakey–Cooyar Road is a continuous 58.8 kilometres (36.5 mi) road route in the Darling Downs and Toowoomba regions of Queensland , Australia. The entire route is signed as State Route 68. It is a state-controlled part regional and part district road (number 417). It provides an alternate route between the Warrego Highway and the New England Highway , bypassing Toowoomba . The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) defines
106-537: A semi-arid or subtropical highland climate . Summer maximum temperatures range from 28 to 34 °C (82 to 93 °F), while winter maximums range from 13 to 19 °C (55 to 66 °F). The annual rainfall ranges from 600 mm (24 in) in the far west of the region, to 1,000 mm (39 in) in the east. In the south-east of the Darling Downs winter temperatures can drop below −5 °C (23 °F) with heavy frost and occasional snow , while in
159-551: A sheep property at Canning Downs on the Condamine River in 1846. Other well-established residences on the southern downs include Glengallan Homestead, Talgai Homestead, Pringle Cottage and Rosenthal Homestead. One of the first stations to be established was Jimbour House. It was also the point where Leichhardt launched his expedition to the Northern Territory in 1844. By 1844 there 26 properties including
212-547: A better crossing of the Great Dividing Range . Warrego Highway (A2) was rerouted via the bypass between Helidon Spa (in the east) and the interchange at Charlton (in the west). The bypass continues as the Gore Highway (A39) and is 41 km in length. The original section of Warrego Highway through Toowoomba was renamed Toowoomba Connection Road (A21). These projects began in 2017 to fully duplicate
265-401: A four lane divided highway with motorway-style on-ramps and off-ramps. At a point between Charlton and Oakey the highway merges from 4 to 2 lanes (however, throughout 2017–2019, the highway was planned to be duplicated up until Oakey) Then, the highway mostly continues in a straight line with minimal turns. At Dalby, the highway briefly returns to 4 lanes (where a longer stretch of the highway
318-699: A number of power stations situated on the Downs, including the Millmerran Power Station , Oakey Power Station , Darling Downs Power Station and the Kogan Creek Power Station . Tarong Power Station is building the state's largest grid battery storage project. The Dingo Fence starts at the town of Jimbour across the country to the Great Australian Bight . Mining exploration leases cover more than 90% of
371-410: A number of sheep stations with more than 150,000 head. Local aboriginals and European squatters co-settled the area from the late 1840s onwards. Darling Downs then became known as the 'jewel in the diadem of squatterdom' with an elite 'pure merino' class living in comfortable houses. In 1854, Charles Douglas Eastaughffe settled in the area. Spicers Gap Road opened up the area in the 1850s. Later
424-593: A radio series. Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland , Australia . It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River , which is the endpoint of the highway. The entire highway is part of the National Highway system linking Darwin and Brisbane : formerly National Highway 54 , Queensland began to convert to
477-717: A single point in Oakey at which all of its local roads start and end, or pass through to other end points. The former route of the Warrego Highway through the town, now known as Oakey Connection Road (see below) is the basis from which other roads emanate. Thus the Oakey–Cooyar Road starts at its junction with Oakey Connection Road, which is the TMR designated point. State Route 68 does not end at that point, but follows Oakey Connection Road and Oakey–Pittsworth Road until it meets
530-510: A site where a tourist operator has collected numerous related structures. The region has also a small zoo, Darling Downs Zoo near Clifton. The region has uncovered important megafauna fossil finds. The rich discoveries have lent weight to the theory that humans were not a factor in the extinction of the ancient megafauna species. Many of the fossils in the region date to the Pleistocene and include species such as Diprotodon optatum ,
583-572: 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 applied to an area approximating to that of the Condamine River catchment upstream of Condamine township but is now applied to a wider region comprising the Southern Downs , Western Downs , Toowoomba and Goondiwindi local authority areas. The name Darling Downs
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#1732801898604636-567: Is also extracted from streams, off-stream reservoirs and on-farm dams. The lower temperatures of the milder summers in the Stanthorpe and Killarney regions allows farmers to grow lettuce, celery, brassicas and potato. The Darling Downs contains the largest deposit of rich black agricultural soils in Australia. A commonly grown grass species Panicum coloratum , also known as Bambatsi, is well-suited for pastures used for grazing because it
689-526: Is now called The Downs include Dalby , Warwick , Stanthorpe , Wallangarra , Goondiwindi , Oakey , Miles , Pittsworth , Allora , Clifton , Cecil Plains , Drayton , Millmerran , Nobby , and Chinchilla . The New England Highway , Gore Highway and the Warrego Highway traverse the region. The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing has been constructed so that heavy traffic can avoid passing through Toowoomba. Coolmunda Dam , Leslie Dam , Cooby Dam , Perseverance Dam , Cressbrook Dam , Storm King Dam and
742-407: Is rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from the Warrego Highway in Oakey (northwest of the town) through the town before returning to the highway southeast of the town, a distance of 7.3 kilometres (4.5 mi). It intersects with Oakey–Cooyar Road and Oakey–Pittsworth Road in the town. All distances are from Google Maps. Darling Downs The Darling Downs
795-525: Is suitable to the heavy-cracking clay soils found in the area. The eastern Downs feature a wide range of soil types. Brothers Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Ziesemer and Theodor Martin Peter Ziesemer were significant pioneers of large scale wheat farming on the Darling Downs. The area is home to Australia's largest concentration of feedlots. In 2010, two abattoirs at Pittsworth and Killarney owned by Dudley Leitch were closed. Several other plants in
848-425: Is the only natural lake on the tablelands. The town of Jandowae gained fame after offering vacant blocks of land for just $ 1. This was done to encourage residents to settle in the small town which had less than 1,000 people in 2001. The Cobb & Co Museum has displays of horse-drawn vehicles and material on the history of the Darling Downs. The Jondaryan Woolshed is a heritage-listed shearing shed situated at
901-580: The Baranggum people . The Baranggum language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Western Downs Regional Council , particularly Dalby , Tara , Jandowae and west towards Chinchilla . Originally, the Darling Downs was covered with a wealth of indigenous grasses which created an ideal verdure for stock eight months of the year. The Darling Downs Aboriginals had an annual burning season at
954-721: The Bunya Mountains National Park . The region to the north is the South Burnett and the Maranoa lies to the west. A section of the western downs lies over coal deposits of the Surat Basin . Towards the coast, the mountains of the Scenic Rim form the headwaters of the westward flowing Condamine. The majority of the Darling Downs has a humid subtropical climate although some areas experience
1007-618: The Glenlyon Dam are some of the major water storage facilities in the area. West of Toowoomba is the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport . The Darling Down is situated in the drainage basins of the Condamine River and Maranoa River and tributaries. The Condamine River flood plain is noted for its good soils formed by basaltic alluvium . On the northern boundaries of the Downs are the Bunya Mountains and
1060-481: The Great Artesian Basin , light planes crop -dusting, rusty old woolsheds and other scattered remnants from a bygone era of early exploration and settlement. The region is recognised as a cultural icon on the list of Queensland's Q150 icons. The largest city and commercial centre of the Darling Downs is Toowoomba about 132 kilometres (82 mi) west of Brisbane . Other towns situated on what
1113-463: The Hunter Region and travelling north. In June 1827, Cunningham climbed to the top of Mount Dumaresque (near what is now Clintonvale close to Maryvale ) and after wrote in his diary that this lush area was ideal for settlement. Exploring around Mount Dumaresque, Cunningham found a pass, now known as Cunninghams Gap . Cunningham returned to Moreton Bay in 1828 and with Charles Fraser charted
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#17328018986041166-519: The Q150 celebrations, the Darling Downs was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location". Steele Rudd (Arthur Davis) wrote a series of comic novels on rural life, starting with On Our Selection (1899), about Dad, Mother and Dave Rudd of Snake Gully. The Rudds had four (or six) acres adjoining a sheep run in the Darling Downs. The stories were made into films and
1219-652: The Western Downs . The highway continues through the towns of Roma and Mitchell in the Maranoa Region of South West Queensland . After Morven , the A2 Route continues north–west along the Landsborough Highway , with the western turnoff continuing the Warrego Highway down to its terminus at Charleville . The section of highway between Ipswich and Charlton is mostly motorway grade;
1272-672: The railway line and continues out of town as Davidson Street and Blake Road before becoming Oakey–Cooyar Road as it passes the Oakey Army Aviation Centre . It runs north through rich crop-growing land until it reaches the Pechey–Maclagan Road in Highland Plains , where it turns west then north, north-west and north as Pechey–Maclagan Road. Here it passes the New Acland coal mine and runs through
1325-515: The Darling Downs were fertile wilderness . For example, around Ma Ma Creek, rich swampy wetlands provided a haven for many animal species not currently found on the downs. The Darling Downs hopping mouse and paradise parrot have both become extinct since cattle farming began. The New Acland Mine expansion, north of Oakey, has been delayed by the largest environmental public interest court cases in Australian history. In 2009 as part of
1378-464: The Darling Downs. The western Downs has seen a massive installation of coal seam gas wells. After agriculture and mining and manufacturing are the next most important sectors. Manufacturing focuses on food and beverages but also the production of machinery, equipment and metal products. The region produces around one quarter of the state's agricultural output. Water for irrigation is mostly sourced from groundwater from alluvial aquifers . Water
1431-519: The Kamabroi dialect. The Downs tribes spoke one common dialect, called Waccah and so to all other surrounding tribes were known as the Wacca-burra. The Goonnee-burra were once situated where Warwick stands today. Goonnee meant "the ones who hunt with fire". Allan Cunningham set out to explore the area to the west of Moreton Bay in 1827, crossing to the west of the Great Dividing Range from
1484-500: The New England Highway. The road is fully sealed. It has a distance of about 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) with an incline greater than 5%. The road crosses the Great Dividing Range just south of Nutgrove, at an elevation of 681 metres (2,234 ft) above sea level. Pastoral runs were taken up in the areas around Oakey from the early 1840s. These included Jondaryan to the west, and Goombungee and Rosalie Plains to
1537-672: The Toowoomba to Ipswich corridor, including the Warrego Highway and surrounding state and council roads, at an estimated cost of $ 75 million, was in planning in May 2020. A project to upgrade the Brimblecombe Road intersection between Toowoomba and Dalby, at a cost of $ 2,75 million, was completed in December 2021. A project to provide a heavy vehicle decoupling facility at Gatton was completed by November 2021. A master plan for
1590-525: The Warrego Highway. For convenience this article describes the full length of State Route 68. The road commences at an intersection with the Warrego Highway in Oakey. It runs generally north through Oakey, following Oakey–Pittsworth Road, Aubigny Road, Campbell Street and Bridge Street until it reaches the TMR designated point where Oakey–Cooyar Road leaves the Oakey Connection Road. It crosses
1643-412: The aim of establishing many small farms in the more accessible areas. These resumptions included 11,500 acres (4,700 ha) from Rosalie Plains and 18,500 acres (7,500 ha) from Cooyar. Early roads to the north of Oakey were cut to enable access to the pastoral runs and their outstations. With the advent of small farms and towns came a need for more and better roads. Road construction and maintenance
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1696-433: The alphanumeric system much of Australia had adopted in the early-2000s and this road is now designated as National Highway A2 . Warrego Highway is a state-controlled road, divided into seven sections for administrative and funding purposes. Six of the seven sections (numbers 18A to 18F) are part of the National Highway , while section 18G is a regional road. The sections are: State-controlled roads that intersect with
1749-470: The area were also closed leaving the remaining meat processor at Yangan in high demand. By late 2012, the industry was recovering with smaller processing facilities at Crows Nest and Inglewood opening. In 2014, the Oakey Abattoir which is the fourth largest meat processing plant in Australia, launched an environmental initiative to extract green energy biogas from its waste water streams. It
1802-557: The cities and major towns of: In January 2011, the former highway was extensively damaged where it crossed the Toowoomba Range. This included land slips, shoulder and embankment erosion, the erosion of drains and damaged rock fall netting. The road wasn't fully repaired with all four lanes open until September 2011. The Toowoomba Bypass was completed in September 2019 and bypasses the urban area of Toowoomba and provides
1855-558: The decade up to 2016. The landscape is dominated by rolling hills covered by pastures of many different species, vegetables , legumes such as soy beans and chick peas, and other crops including cotton , wheat , barley and sorghum . Between the farmlands there are long stretches of crisscrossing roads, bushy ridges, winding creeks and herds of cattle. There are farms with beef and dairy cattle , pigs , sheep and lamb stock. Other typical sights include irrigation systems, windmills serving as water well pumps to get water from
1908-477: The expansion of Queensland Rail 's train networks and Cobb and Co 's stagecoach transport greatly assisted access to the region. Gold was found in the district around this time, however it was agricultural activity that provided for the boom times ahead. The 1891 Australian shearers' strike started at Jondaryan . The Darling Downs experienced a water crisis as the Condamine River dried up during
1961-564: The highway are listed in the main article. The highway commences at the end of the M2 Ipswich Motorway , near Ipswich and runs to Helidon Spa , at the foot of the Great Dividing Range . From there it follows the Toowoomba Bypass to Charlton , west of Toowoomba . The Warrego then crosses the Darling Downs , bypassing the town of Oakey and then passing through the towns of Dalby , Chinchilla and Miles , in
2014-558: The highway to 4 lanes, between Cecil Plains Road and Black Street. 4 new traffic signals were added at Black Street, Jandowae Road, Orpen Street and a pedestrian signal near Owen Street. Both projects were completed in November 2018, at a combined cost of $ 115 million. The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following project for the Warrego Highway. A project to upgrade priority sections of
2067-496: The largest-ever marsupial . In 2021, examination of a partial skull revealed a site on the Darling Downs was the location for a new species of Tomistominae crocodile, representing the largest extinct crocodile species ever discovered in Australia. The Darling Downs Golf Association has 21 affiliated golf clubs on the Darling Downs. The Carnival of Flowers attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to Toowoomba each September since 1950. Before European settlement many areas on
2120-851: The locality of Balgowan . This road eventually exits to the west in Rosalie Plains while Oakey–Cooyar road continues north. It then turns north-east through Kulpi , Evergreen and Highgrove , passing the Haden–Peranga Road in Evergreen. The road continues generally north through increasingly hilly country until it passes the Muntapa Tunnel and reaches the Dalby–Cooyar Road in Nutgrove . From there it continues north-east through Wutul , where it ends at an intersection with
2173-487: The north-west summer temperatures can surpass 45 °C (113 °F). Severe thunderstorms and damaging floods are a threat at times, as are bushfires in dry years. Part of the Darling Downs, which includes the towns of Allora, Clifton, Warwick, Killarney and the rocky district in the south known as the Granite Belt , is known as the Southern Downs . The phrase is also used to define political boundaries and in
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2226-407: The north. Further north, Kulpi and Peranga were outstations of Rosalie Plains. A pastoral run was also established at Cooyar. The Western railway line opened from Toowoomba to Dalby in 1868, with a station at Oakey, allowing the town to grow as a centre of commerce for properties around it. In 1877 large amounts of land were resumed from several pastoral runs and made available for selection, with
2279-571: The population of the Darling Downs was estimated to be 241,537 people. In 2022, the Wieambilla police shootings took place, marking the first fundamentalist Christian terrorist attack in Australia. The Queensland Gas Pipeline oil pipeline and the Roma to Brisbane Pipeline, Australia's first natural gas pipeline both cross the region from west to east. There are three coal mines , New Acland Mine , Kogan Creek Mine and Cameby Downs coal mine and
2332-539: The promotion of tourism in the area. The Dumaresq and the MacIntyre are found in this part of the region. (This is different to the IBRA subregion also known as The Southern Downs Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia , which is further west, around the towns of Roma, Mitchell and Injune). Baranggum (also known as Barrunggam, Barunggam Parrungoom, Murrumgama) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by
2385-633: The rest of Queensland due to its elevation. Altitudes from 680 m to over 1200 m above sea level make it ideally suited to premium wine production. The region is popular with tourists because of its many natural and heritage attractions, including the Goomburra State Forest, Cunninghams Gap , Spicers Gap and the Queen Mary Falls near Killarney in the Main Range National Park . Lake Broadwater
2438-419: The route through the pass to the Darling Downs. Ludwig Leichhardt in 1844 saw the remains of a camp showing the signs of white men through ridge poles and steel axes. News of the lush pastures quickly spread resulting in a land grab that authorities in the distant New South Wales colony found difficult to stop. Patrick Leslie was the first European person to settle on the Darling Downs in 1840, establishing
2491-467: The severe drought of 1994/1995. During the early 20th century dairy was a significant industry for Queensland. The 1930s saw the peaking of the dairy industry on the Downs with 6,500 farms and over 200,000 milking cows. The Downs Co-operative Dairy Association expanded, constructed or purchased at least 10 butter and cheese factories across the Darling Downs. The Downs Co-operative Dairy Association Limited Factory in Toowoomba closed in 2006. In 2010,
2544-478: The time when the indigenous grasses were ripe and dry. The annual fires gave the local Aboriginals of the Darling Downs the name "Goonneeburra" or "Fire Blacks" – "goonnee" being a name for fire and "burra" a generic word for the whole race. This is what the Downs tribes were known as to the coastal Aborigines who inhabited the Moreton Bay area. Murri is a wider-spread generic word meaning the whole race but in
2597-755: The upgrade of the highway between Ipswich and Toowoomba has been developed at a cost of $ 6.78 million. A project to plan the upgrade of the Haigslea-Amberley Road intersection, at a cost of $ 799,000, was in progress in May 2022. A project to plan the upgrade of the Mount Crosby Road intersection, at a cost of $ 5 million, was in progress in July 2021. On 28 September 2011 the Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace , announced that an 85 km stretch of
2650-416: Was difficult on the rich soils of the Darling Downs, leading to requests for a railway. While waiting for a railway, which did not arrive until 1912-13, many improvements were made to the roads. The railway operated until 1964, when improvements in road construction and motor vehicle reliability rendered it non-competitive. Oakey Connection Road is a state-controlled district road (number 326), part of which
2703-529: Was given in 1827 by Allan Cunningham , the first European explorer to reach the area and recognises the then Governor of New South Wales , Ralph Darling . The region has developed a strong and diverse agricultural industry largely due to the extensive areas of vertosols (cracking clay soils), particularly black vertosols, of moderate to high fertility and available water capacity . Manufacturing and mining, particularly coal mining are also important, and coal seam gas extraction experienced significant growth in
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#17328018986042756-527: Was planned to be duplicated in 2017). The Warrego then continues as a rural 2 lane highway, until Charleville. The Warrego Highway's lowest point along its length is 3.69 m just east of where it crosses the Bremer River near Ipswich, and its highest elevation is at the top of the Great Dividing Range on the Toowoomba Bypass. From east to west, the highway passes through or close to
2809-405: Was the first ever use of a covered lagoon to treat effluent. In the Southern Downs region surrounding Stanthorpe in an area called the Granite Belt there are now over sixty cellar doors, wineries, and vineyards. The industry first began as a table grape growing region that by the mid-1960s was starting to plant wine grape cultivars. This region has a subtropical highland climate atypical to
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