Middle Ridge is a residential

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

of Toowoomba in the Toowoomba Region,

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. In the , Middle Ridge had a population of 7,141 people.

Geography

Middle Ridge is located from the

Toowoomba city centre Toowoomba City is an urban locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the central suburb of Toowoomba, containing its central business district. In the , Toowoomba City had a population of 2,088 people. Geography The subu ...

History

Middle Ridge was named in the 1860s, as the area between East and West Creeks where the teamsters who camped at Toowoomba turned their teams loose to graze. The

Shire of Middle Ridge The Shire of Middle Ridge was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, south of Toowoomba, Queensland, centred on Middle Ridge (now a suburb of Toowoomba). It existed from 1880 to 1917. History The Shire of ...

, 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 State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

, existed from 1880 to 1917. The shire's centre was at the intersection of Stenner and Hume Streets () now the north-western corner of the locality of Middle Ridge where there was the shire hall, the school and a church. Between 1958 and 1961 three motor racing events took place at Middle Ridge, to coincide with the 'Carnival of the Flowers' in September. A rectangular circuit using Stenner Street-Mackenzie Street-Alderley Street-Rowbotham Street was run in an anti-clockwise direction. There have been several reasons given why racing stopped after 1961 - local farmers claimed that the races stopped their chickens laying eggs; the carnival organisers believed that loud racing engines were incompatible with flowers; or that the races were pulling spectators away from other Carnival events. Middle Ridge State School opened on 27 May 1884.

Education

Middle Ridge State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 203 Spring Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 827 students with 65 teachers (53 full-time equivalent) and 33 non-teaching staff (20 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program.

Community groups

Several sporting facilities are also located in Middle Ridge: the Echo Valley Motor Sport Complex (home to the Toowoomba Auto Club and Toowoomba Motocross Club), the Valleys rugby league club, and Toowoomba Golf Club. The Middle Ridge branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 95 Preston-Boundary Road,

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

Heritage listings

Middle Ridge is home to the heritage-listed

Gabbinbar Gabbinbar is a heritage-listed villa at 344-376 Ramsay Street, Toowoomba, Middle Ridge, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architect Willoughby Powell for the Rev. Dr. William Lambie Nelson and built in 1876 by Richard ...

homestead 344-376 Ramsay Street ().

References

External links

* {{Toowoomba Region Suburbs of Toowoomba Localities in Queensland