The roads that join the towns of , and form a triangle that encloses some of the most fertile land on 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 generally ...
in
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. These roads are the
Warrego Highway,
Oakey–Cooyar Road and Dalby–Cooyar Road. Several of the more significant internal roads intersect with Dalby–Cooyar Road, and these are briefly described in this article, along with some significant external roads.
Dalby–Cooyar Road is a continuous road route in the
Western Downs and
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 ...
regions of Queensland. It is a regional road (number 416).
It is part of the shortest route from the
Sunshine Coast and to Dalby.
Route description
The Dalby–Cooyar Road commences at an intersection with the
Bunya Highway (State Route 49) in . It leaves Dalby as Irvingdale Road and runs east, soon becoming Dalby–Cooyar Road. It turns north-east and reaches the eastern boundary of Dalby, where it passes the exit to Dalby–Nungil Road and turns north, passing between Dalby and before turning north-east and running through from south to east. In Kaimkillenbun village it passes the exit to Bell–Kaimkillenbun Road and turns east.
At the eastern boundary of Kaimkillenbun it passes the exit to
Bunya Mountains Road and enters , which it runs through from west to east, passing the exit to Bowenville–Moola Road. It then runs between and for a short distance before passing the exit to
Pechey–Maclagan Road and turning north-east into Maclagan. In Maclagan village
Bunya Mountains–Maclagan Road exits to the west and then turns north. Dalby–Cooyar Road continues north-east through Maclagan until it nears the eastern boundary, where it turns east and enters . The road ends at an intersection with
Oakey–Cooyar Road (State Route 68) in Nutgrove.
Land use along this road is mainly crop farming.
This road is part of a
network that enables access to the locality of Bunya Mountains from three lowland points, thus providing alternatives in case of flooding, other natural disasters, or planned maintenance.
Internal roads
Pechey–Maclagan Road
Pechey–Maclagan Road is a state-controlled district road (number 418), rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It starts at on the
New England Highway
New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...
and runs west through several localities before entering the triangle at on the Oakey–Cooyar Road. It continues west to , where it turns north to Maclagan and ends at the Dalby–Cooyar Road.
In Brymaroo it intersects with Jondaryan–Nungil Road, thus providing a direct south-north link from the Warrego Highway at to Maclagan.
Bowenville–Moola Road
This road provides a direct south-north link from the Warrego Highway at to the Dalby–Cooyar Road.
Dalby–Nungil Road
This road runs east from Dalby, intersecting with Bowenville–Moola Road and Pechey–Maclagan Road, thus providing a direct west-east link from Dalby to Rosalie Plains and beyond.
External roads
Bunya Mountains Road
Bunya Mountains Road is a state-controlled district road (number 4161), rated LRRS. It runs from Dalby–Cooyar Road to the
Bunya Mountains
The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains, Quee ...
. It is part of the shortest route from Dalby to the Bunya Mountains.
Bunya Mountains–Maclagan Road
This is a state-controlled district road (number 4163), part of which is rated LRRS. It runs from Maclagan through Moola to the Bunya Mountains Road. Together with Jondaryan–Nungil Road and Pechey–Maclagan Road it provides a fairly direct route from the Warrego Highway at Jondaryan to the Bunya Mountains. There is an unsealed section of on this road.
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]
Bell–Kaimkillenbun Road
This road connects the Bunya Highway at Bell to the Dalby–Cooyar Road at Kaimkillenbun. Part of it is part of the shortest route from Bell to the Bunya Mountains.
History
The Dalby area was settled in the 1840s, and a township was surveyed in 1853 and founded in 1854. A post office opened in 1855 and a school in 1861. The railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
arrived in 1868, allowing the town to grow as the commercial centre for properties around it.
Irvingdale pastoral run was established in the 1840s. In 1849 a pastoral run named Cumkillenbar was established in the area now named Kaimkillenbun. The first roads were cut to enable access to the pastoral runs and other settlements for wheeled vehicles.
In 1889 the town that is now Maclagan was surveyed,
Major intersections
All distances are from Google Maps.
See also
* List of road routes in Queensland
* List of numbered roads in Queensland
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalby-Cooyar Road
Roads in Queensland