Middle Ridge is a residential

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

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 ...

in the

Toowoomba Region The Toowoomba Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area (LGA) on the border of Darling Downs and South East Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, the LGA was preceded by several other local go ...

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. In the , Middle Ridge had a population of 7,595 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 and informally known as the Toowoomba CBD. In the , Toowoomba City had a populat ...

. The Great Dividing Range passes through Middle Ridge from the north-west to the south-east. The area west of the range is on the Darling Downs at above sea level and is a residential area. The area east of the range falls rapidly to as low as above sea level.

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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, 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. Middle Ridge State School opened on 27 May 1884. Between 1958 and 1961 three motor racing events took place at Middle Ridge, to coincide with the Carnival of 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.

Demographics

In the , Middle Ridge had a population of 7,141 people. In the , Middle Ridge had a population of 7,595 people.

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 (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

program. The Tooowoomba campus of OneSchool Global (formerly known as the Agnew School) is at 40 Gerrard Street, Middle Ridge (). It is a primary and secondary school (Years 3-12) operated by the

Plymouth Brethren Christian Church The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) (an Australian Public Company Limited by Guarantee, ACN: 158 542 075) also known as Raven Brethren or Taylorites is a Christian denomination currently led by Australian businessman Bruce Hales. The g ...

. As at 26 October 2024, it has an enrolment of 66 students. There are no government secondary schools in Middle Ridge. The nearest government secondary school is

Centenary Heights State High School Centenary Heights State High School is a State High School located in the suburb of Centenary Heights in Toowoomba, Queensland, with an enrolment of around 1700 students (2020) and was one of Queensland's leading high schools with 11 OP's 1 ...

in neighbouring Centenary Heights to the north.

Heritage listings

Middle Ridge is home to the heritage-listed Gabbinbar homestead 344-376 Ramsay Street ().

Amenities

The Toowoomba Golf Club is at 245 Rowbotham Street (). It has an 18-hole golf course. Other sporting facilities at Middle Ridge include: the Echo Valley Motor Sport Complex (home to the Toowoomba Auto Club and Toowoomba Motocross Club) and the Valleys rugby league club. The Middle Ridge branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at 95 Preston-Boundary Road, Preston.

References

External links

* {{Toowoomba Region Suburbs of Toowoomba Localities in Queensland