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The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, Australia and east of
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...
. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultivated area grows the most diverse range of commercial fruit and vegetables of any area in Australia. The valley is referred to as "Australia's Salad Bowl" to describe the area as one of Australia's premium food bowls. The valley is experiencing increasing urbanisation at both its eastern and western extremities. With a combination of vibrant rural living and affordable land and house prices, the region is experiencing rapid growth and development between the Brisbane-
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
in the east and Toowoomba in the west.
Urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
measures have been implemented to preserve the good quality agricultural land and rural feel of the valley. Such measures largely confine future
development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...
to non-
arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
on the slopes of the hills.


Geography

The valley is enclosed on either side by the
Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
and lies within the
Lockyer Valley Region The Lockyer Valley Region is a local government area in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, between the cities of Ipswich and Toowoomba. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Gatton and the Shire of Laidl ...
local government area. The largest town in the Lockyer Valley is Gatton, followed by the towns of Laidley,
Withcott Withcott is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Withcott had a population of 1844 people. Geography Withcott is in the Lockyer Valley. The town is located on the Toowoomba Connection Road, form ...
, and
Plainland Plainland is a rural locality and development centre in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Plainland had a population of 1,930 people - an increase of 21% from the 2016 census. Geography Plainland is in the Lockyer Valle ...
. Other notable centres include
Hatton Vale Hatton Vale is a rural locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Hatton Vale had a population of 1,521 people. Geography Hatton Vale is in South East Queensland and on the Warrego Highway, west of the state capital ...
, Helidon, Forest Hill,
Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
, and Murphys Creek.
Lockyer Creek The Lockyer Creek is a creek located in South East Queensland, Australia. A tributary of the Brisbane River, the creek is a major drainage system in the Lockyer Valley. Rising on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the creek flows ...
and its tributaries drain the valley and forms a tributary of the
Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...
that eventually empties into
Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
. Many of the creeks in the valley are ephemeral. The valley has a number of small dams that serve local storage needs, including
Atkinson Dam The Atkinson Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam across the Buaraba Creek and a naturally forming lagoon, which is located near Lowood in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for irrigation of farming lan ...
built in 1970,
Bill Gunn Dam The Bill Gunn Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway located off-stream in Laidley Heights in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for irrigation of the Lockyer Valley. The res ...
and
Lake Clarendon The Lake Clarendon Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway located off-stream in the locality of Lake Clarendon in the Lockyer Valley Region, South East Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for i ...
. 12 different land types have been identified in the valley. The banks of waterways in the Lockyer Valley have been identified as the source of silt, which caused problems for the
Mount Crosby Pumping Station Mount Crosby pumping station is a heritage-listed pumping station and weir (the Mount Crosby Weir) at Stumers Road, Mount Crosby, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the Brisbane River and extends into Chuwar on the other ...
during
Cyclone Oswald Tropical Cyclone Oswald in 2013 was a tropical cyclone that passed over parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia over a number of days, causing widespread impact including severe storms, flooding, and water spouts. Coastal regions ...
. In 2014, $8 million was allocated to prevent soil erosion within the Lockyer Valley.


History

The valley was once home to the "Kitabul People" before the arrival of Europeans in the early 19th century. Today, the Ugarapul People are considered the traditional owners of the Lockyer Valley region. One of the first white people known to the Indigenous people in the area was said to be "Boralcho" Baker, who lived with the
Jagera people The Jagera people, also written Yagarr, Yaggera, and other variants, are the Australian Aboriginal people who spoke the Yuggera language. The Yuggera language which encompassed a number of dialects was spoken by the traditional owners of the te ...
from 1826 for 18 years. In 1827, the explorer Allan Cunningham made his first contact.Riethmuller, Neil (2006). The Darling Downs Aborigines: 1787-2004: Genocide and Survival. Toowoomba. ISBN 1920855742, p.7
Squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
licenses were first granted in
NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
in 1836 for what was by then considered
Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...
. Squatters arrived in the area east of the
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 generall ...
from 1840 onwards and land clearing began for the grazing of live stock. The squatters lived in very basic huts like the DesJardins cottage, which can be seen at the Laidley Pioneer Village. From the late 1840s, many squatting licenses were turned into longer leases.W.R.E. Blake (1991). A story of the Laidley Shire : from 1829 onwards to all this. Laidley, pp.16-17 Increasing numbers of unfenced grazing sheep and stations saw the traditional food sources of Aborigines decrease considerably. Many of them retreated into the mountains where they found a smaller range of edible food sources than on the grasslands, being one of the reasons for the near complete devastation of the Indigenous inhabitants of the area. The town of Gatton was gazetted in 1855, making it one of Queensland's earliest European settlements. The valley was populated by German immigrants under a scheme organised by Lutheran Pastor Heussler. The first rail line in the valley was opened in 1865 when the
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
to Grandchester services began operation. A small town developed in the 1870s while a small timber industry grew at about the same time. Structures in the valley were damaged by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the area on 17 November 1960. Between 1922 and 1960 the Laidley Valley railway line operated between Mulgowie and Laidley but was never profitable. In 1994, a 41 hectare parcel of scrub, known as Berlin Scrub Nature Refuge, was the first land protected as a nature refuge under the
Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...
In January 2012, the
Southern Queensland Correctional Centre The Southern Queensland Correctional Centre (SQCC) is an Australian prison facility located in the Lockyer Valley, 15 km north from Gatton, and 94 km west from Brisbane, Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland ...
near Gatton began operations.


Climate

With an average annual rainfall of 780 mm, the Lockyer Valley is the driest part of South East Queensland. Rainfall is highly variable and droughts are experienced regularly. The Lockyer Valley typically experiences temperatures higher than the Brisbane region in summer, but colder in the winter. In November 2008, the valley experienced some of the worst flooding in its recorded history with farmers experiencing total crop failure. The flooding claimed the lives of livestock as well as an elderly female in the Forest Hill area, caught up in the flooding whilst driving. This event was overshadowed by severe flooding in January 2011. The towns of
Withcott Withcott is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Withcott had a population of 1844 people. Geography Withcott is in the Lockyer Valley. The town is located on the Toowoomba Connection Road, form ...
and
Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
were particularly hard hit. Flood related deaths were recorded in the communities of Spring Bluff, Murphys Creek, Grantham and Postmans Ridge. Many council-owned bridges in the valley were either completely gone or partially destroyed. To repair roads and drains the
Lockyer Valley Region The Lockyer Valley Region is a local government area in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, between the cities of Ipswich and Toowoomba. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Gatton and the Shire of Laidl ...
local government area initially estimated the repair bill to be A$176 million. In 2012, a solar powered, radar based, imaging system was installed to detect dramatic rises in creek water levels. The cameras monitor conditions from atop a five to six-metre high pole to avoid damage during floods. An LED spotlight is used to take photos at night. When a flood event is detected the system enters a mode where images are taken more frequently. Real time data is transmitted to the council's disaster centre. The council spent $40,000 on the system.


Agriculture

The valley's main agricultural activities are intensive horticulture, cropping and grazing. Major crops grown in the areas include grains and vegetables. Cultivation of turf and lucerne for both dairy and racehorses is also widespread. Most of the water used in agriculture is sourced from below the surface. Farmers in the valley produce around 40% of the fresh vegetables consumed in South East Queensland. Most farms in the Lockyer Valley are small ranging from 100 to 1,000 hectares in size. The valley contains fertile black soils which support a $160 million-a-year vegetable industry. A variable climate and all year cropping has placed significant strain on water supply from groundwater aquifers. The viability of agriculture in the Lockyer Valley has been questioned after unreliable rains during drought, pest outbreaks and crop damage during severe weather have led to a decrease in
agricultural productivity Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural outputs to inputs. While individual products are usually measured by weight, which is known as crop yield, varying products make measuring overall agricultural output difficu ...
. Some farmers have instigated the use of laser measurements to ensure
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
systems are optimally configured and yields are high. Recycled wastewater from the
Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme The Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, a recycled water project, is located in the South East region of Queensland in Australia. The scheme is managed by Seqwater and forms a key part of the SEQ Water Grid constructed by the Queensland Gove ...
could be used for irrigation in the Lockyer. The infrastructure is in place however the cost is prohibitive. Nearly all the nation's processing beetroot is grown in the Lockyer Valley. In 2002, the number of beetroot farmers had reduced to just eight farms. Golden Circle sources vegetables from the Lockyer Valley.


See also

*
Agriculture in Australia Although Australia is mostly arid, the nation is a major agricultural producer and exporter, with over 325,300 employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing as of February 2015. Agriculture and its closely related sectors earn $155 billion-a-y ...
*
Fassifern Valley Fassifern Valley is a valley of the Scenic Rim in South East Queensland. Towns found in the valley include Harrisville, Kalbar, Roadvale, Warril View and Aratula. Fassifern Valley is known as a carrot-producing area, as well as for growin ...
* List of valleys of Australia


References


External links


Lockyer Valley Tourism & Development Association

Lockyer Valley Community Recovery Plan 2011
Lockyer Valley Regional Council. {{coord, 27, 33, 31.8, S, 152, 16, 41.4, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Valleys of Queensland Floods in Queensland Lockyer Valley Region Agriculture in Queensland