The City of Toowoomba was a local government area in 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 general ...

region of

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 , establishe ...

, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city 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 ...

. The City covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity in various forms from 1860 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the surrounding area to form the

Toowoomba Region The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and bey ...

History

The

Borough of Toowoomba A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

was proclaimed on 19 November 1860 under the ''Municipalities Act 1858'', a piece of

New South Wales ) , 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 ...

legislation inherited by Queensland when it became a separate colony in 1859.

William Henry Groom William Henry Groom (9 March 1833 – 8 August 1901) was an Australian publican, newspaper proprietor, and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Queensland from 1862 to 1901 and of the Parliament of Australia in 1901. Early l ...

, sometimes described as the "father of Toowoomba", was elected its first mayor. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the ''Local Government Act''. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Toowoomba Municipality became the

Town of Toowoomba A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

on 31 March 1903. On 29 October 1904, Toowoomba was proclaimed the City of Toowoomba. Toowoomba absorbed parts of 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 ...

and

Town of Newtown The Town of Newtown was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, loosely based on the current Newtown, a suburb of Toowoomba. It existed between 1913 and 1917. History On 25 January 1913, the Shire of Gowrie ...

on 23 February 1917. On 19 March 1949, following a major reorganisation of local government in

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. Th ...

, Toowoomba grew its area to include parts of the Shires of Highfields and Drayton. In 2006 the Mayor

Dianne Thorley Dianne "Di" Thorley (born 1 December 1949 in Stanthorpe, Queensland) is an Australian politician and a former mayor of Toowoomba, Queensland. Biography Thorley trained as a nurse in Brisbane and later took up a nursing position at Stanthorpe H ...

proposed a controversial plan to recycle sewage into

Cooby Dam The Cooby Dam is a rockfill embankment dam with an ungated spillway across the Cooby Creek, a tributary of Condamine River, at Groomsville in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water ...

which is used for drinking water. The federal government agreed to provide partial funding subject to a number of conditions including a requirement to hold a referendum on the issue. On 29 July 2006, Toowoomba voted against the recycled sewage project with the 'No' vote winning by 62% to 38%. On 15 March 2008, under the ''Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007'' passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the City of Toowoomba merged with the Shires of Cambooya, Clifton, Crows Nest, Jondaryan, Millmerran,

Pittsworth Pittsworth is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Pittsworth had a population of 3,294 people. Geography Pittsworth township is south-west of Brisbane via the Warrego Highway, so ...

and

Shire of Rosalie The Shire of Rosalie was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately northwest of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Goombungee, covered an area of , and existe ...

to form the

. The former mayor of the

Shire of Jondaryan The Shire of Jondaryan was a local government area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately west of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Oakey, covered an area of , and exist ...

won the mayoralty of the new council.

Suburbs

The City of Toowoomba included the following settlements: * Blue Mountain Heights¹ *

Centenary Heights Centenary Heights is a residential locality of Toowoomba in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Centenary Heights had a population of 6,063 people. Geography Centenary Heights is located from the central business district. Hi ...

* Cotswold Hills² * Cranley * Darling Heights * Drayton * East Toowoomba * Glenvale² *

Harlaxton Harlaxton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir and just off the A607, south-west from Grantham and north-east from Melton Mowbray. History A ...

* Harristown * Highfields¹ * Kearneys Spring * Middle Ridge * Mount Kynoch *

Mount Lofty Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. The mountain's s ...

* Newtown * North Toowoomba * Prince Henry Heights * Rangeville * Redwood * Rockville * South Toowoomba * Toowoomba City * Torrington² *

Wilsonton Wilsonton is an urban locality 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_n ...

* Wilsonton Heights ¹ - split with the former Shire of Crows Nest
² - split with the former

Population

Mayors

List of mayors of Toowoomba This is a list of mayors of the City of Toowoomba and the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In March 2008 the City of Toowoomba was amalgamated with the Shires of Crows Nest, Rosalie, Jondaryan, Cambooya, Clifton, Millmerran, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toowoomba, City of Darling Downs Toowoomba, City of Former local government areas of Queensland 1860 establishments in Australia 2008 disestablishments in Australia Populated places disestablished in 2008