When was toowoomba founded

There was also a female figure set in a niche holding a globe of light. Patrick Newman leased the theatre to Senora Spencer, Australia's first female projectionist who named it The Strand after her theatres in Brisbane and Newcastle. The films were accompanied by the Strand Symphony Orchestra. In Senora Spencer gave up her lease and it was taken over by Union Theatres who repainted and decorated the theatre during its temporary closure in due to the Spanish Influenza epidemic.

The s were considered to be the "Golden Age" of the Strand. The motto was "always first with the latest and the greatest". During Toowoomba's cold winters the boast was that the Strand was "as warm as your own fireside". Sound projection was installed thus the "talkies" came to Toowoomba.

In the Strand was lavishly refurbished in the Art Deco style by the Sydney architect and theatre designer Guy Crick. The s saw the introduction of a wide screen format and renovations again took place in the s and 70s. In saw a major redevelopment with four small cinemas being erected around the original cinema. In a fifth cinema was added in the balcony space. In , with the opening of the second cinema complex in Toowoomba the original name "The Strand" was restored to the cinema complex which continues to be a popular venue for cinema patrons today.

On the mid-summer morning of 15 December , a young Englishman named Arthur William Jones, flying his Bleriot-copy monoplane, made a series of metre hops. The first recorded attempt at flight on the Darlings Downs. His first flight over Warwick was on 30 May A local journalist witnessed this remarkable sight and wrote that it was of 'a quite entrancing aerial journey'. Arthur 'Wizard' Stone was another notable showman-flyer who emerged on the flying scene in Wizard was a 'barn-stormer' who became famous for his presence at various shows throughout Queensland.

His first visit to Toowoomba was on July 27 Toowoomba was once a port of call on a Qantas International Airline Service and a Qantas flight between Brisbane and Toowoomba was the first unsubsidised passenger service in Australia.

This regular daily service commenced on 9 May with a DH50A. Qantas charged 2 pounds, 15 shillings for the minute trip. Unfortunately this service was discontinued in December of the same year. Several notable people have landed in Toowoomba. Bert Hinkler born in Bundaberg, Queensland, was another pioneer aviator. On 29 May , the first woman to fly from England to Australia landed at the Werrington Park aerodrome — now called the Toowoomba Airport also known as the Wilsonton Airport.

She was, of course, Amy Johnson or 'Johnnie' as her fans called her. In this plane, he made the first non-stop flight across the Australian Continent and the first flight across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. In he completed a round-the-world flight. Unfortunately in November , on a flight from England to Australia, he and his flying companion disappeared in typhoon weather over the Bay of Bengal.

Fences were legitimately removed to allow the dispersal and better operation of 5 Sqn's Wirraways. Inevitably, cattle made it onto the aerodrome, at times causing the obvious hazard. However, persistence won out and satisfaction was finally achieved.

Toowoomba is the home of the famed Zuccoli Collection. Initially the club operated only on the weekends out of a borrowed tent , and flying training was conducted for and on behalf of the Club by the Royal Queensland Aero Club Archerfield. This was until when the Darling Downs Aero Club purchased its first aircraft a Tiger Moth and began flying training in its own right. It was at this time that the Club employed its first flying instructor, and commenced full-time operations.

It has been in continuous full-time operation ever since. The aerodrome has come a long way since those early times. During the aerodrome entered another chapter after the completion of the runway extension and upgrade project.

Near the aerodrome terminal, a memorial is situated where a lad once stood to watch aircraft come and go. This young man went on to become a pioneering aviator. The youngest of four boys, he began his schooling in Toowoomba before his family moved to Brisbane. A self-confessed lazy student, Bennett left school and became a jackeroo on his father's cattle property but returned to Brisbane after just three months.

There he attempted to join the RAAF. He eventually succeeded, enlisting in Melbourne 12 months after being rejected on health grounds in Brisbane. In he was sent to the United States to take charge of aircraft-ferrying operations between America and England, making several flights himself.

In Bennett returned to the RAF as an acting wing commander in command of an air navigation school. In December that year, he was given command of Bomber Command's 77 Squadron.

Bennett was transferred to command 10 Squadron in April He flew many operations himself and shortly after taking up his new appointment was shot down over Norway in an attack on the Tirpitz. He managed to evade capture and reach Sweden and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for this episode. On 5 July Bennett, now an acting group captain, was given command of Bomber Command's new Pathfinder Force - whose job was to find and mark targets for main force crews.

Bennett took his responsibilities extremely seriously and explored every possible option for minimising aircrew losses and maximising the destructive power of the bomber force; he later admitted the enormous strain he experienced conducting such operations over a period of years. A keen advocate of an international police force that would prevent war, Bennett acted on his convictions by winning a seat in Parliament as a Liberal Party member.

Ultimately he was disappointed at his inability to exert influence. He also became a critic of the United Nations, which he believed could do little to prevent future wars. After the war, Bennett also designed and built several light aircraft and cars. He died on 15 September It is with appreciation that this information was supplied by the Australian War Memorial for the sole use of this memorial page.

Please note that this information is copyright protected by the Australian War Memorial. Guido Zuccoli was of Italian heritage but made Australia his home and established a career in the construction and engineering Industry.

Guido became involved in aviation in He was one of a small group that made a major contribution to the Australia Warbird movement, where these impressive ex-military aircraft can still be flown, principally, under those regulations. Guido was also an accomplished aerobatic pilot, a founder of the Northern Territory Aerobatic Club and one of the original members of the Australian Aerobatic Club.

Guido represented Australia on three separate occasions overseas in his Pitts Special. After he gave up competition aerobatics on medical advice, he maintained his focus on aviation and since that time Guido purchased, was involved with importing and restored a number of aircraft.

The Sea Fury is an aircraft that demanded respect, and Guido was one of only a few who gained a reputation worldwide for his skills and abilities to operate complex aircraft like the Hawker Sea Fury. He delighted and thrilled many airshow attendee's, not only throughout Australia but around the world.

This aircraft remains one of two airworthy examples in the world and is still currently part of the Zuccoli Aircraft Collection. Unfortunately, Guido is no longer with us. In doing so Lynette has not only continued operations but with her team has become a Warbird owner and restorer in her own right! English botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham arrived in Australia from Brazil in , where he had been searching for native trees and plant life that would be suitable for the Australian climate.

In June , he was rewarded for his many explorations when he discovered four million acres of rich farming and grazing land bordered on the east by the Great Dividing Range and situated miles west of the settlement of Moreton Bay later to become Brisbane. It was not until 13 years later when George and Patrick Leslie established Toolburra Station 56 miles south-west of Toowoomba that the first settlers arrived on the Downs.

Other settlers quickly followed and a few tradesmen and businessmen settled and established a township of bark-slab shops called The Springs which was soon renamed Drayton. Towards the end of the s Drayton had grown to the point where it had its own newspaper, general store, trading post and the Royal Bull's Head Inn which was built by William Horton and still stands today. Horton is regarded as the real founder of Toowoomba, although he was not the first man to live there.

Early in , Horton sent two of his men, William Gurney and William Shuttlewood, to cut away reeds in a marshy swampland area a few miles away that nobody from Drayton ever visited. When Gurney and Shuttlewood arrived they were surprised to find a pitched tent among the reeds. The tent's owner was bush worker Josiah Dent who was the first man to live in "The Swamp".

This extraordinary news was the main talking point in Drayton for weeks and people became interested in developing The Swamp as useful farming land. Plans were drawn for 12 - 20 acre farms in the swamp later to be drained and become the foundation for the establishment of Toowoomba in the hope of attracting more people to the area to support the land and build up the town.

Two years later people began purchasing the land but not new settlers. The new farm holdings attracted buyers from Drayton.

In the year Thomas Alford moved into his new home, his wife gave birth to a son, Henry King Alford and, shortly after Josiah Dent's wife bore him a daughter, Pamela. These were the first white babies born in Toowoomba.

On August 29 the town's only churchman, the Rev. Benjamin Glennie who had lived in Drayton since , christened both children at the Alford home. It was the first Church of England service held in Toowoomba and the first day the word "Toowoomba" was written on a public document. It is common knowledge that the Alfords had given the town its name, but how the name Toowoomba was derived is still a point of argument. Read more about the naming of Toowoomba below. Drovers and wagon masters spread the news of the new settlement at Toowoomba.

By Toowoomba was growing fast. It had a population of , three hotels and many stores. On 30 June , a petition of names was sent to the Governor requesting that Toowoomba be declared a Municipality. Governor Bowen granted their wish and a new municipality was proclaimed on 24 November The first town council election took place on 4 January and William Henry Groom, who had led Toowoomba people in their petition for recognition, polled the most votes.

Also in August , telegraphic communication was opened between Toowoomba and Brisbane. In April Toowoomba's rail link with Ipswich was opened. The Toowoomba Gas and Coke Company was floated in and the Council pledged to erect street lamps to assist with the establishment of the fledgling company.

Due to its financial situation Council leased part of the swamp to town brickmakers and also approved construction of the Toowoomba Grammar School. The school's foundation stone was laid in this year. In the Under Secretary of Public Land proclaimed Toowoomba and the surrounding areas as a township. By , the existing Town Hall was inadequate for the demands of a growing community. Council offered a prize of 25 guineas for the best design.

The new building was opened in and still stands in Ruthven Street today. At noon on 20 October , Toowoomba's status of a township was changed to a city and every bell and horn was sounded for half a minute to celebrate the event.

The Second World War saw an invasion by American and Australian troops who took over the parks and major buildings for recreational, hospital and training purposes. Since the s, Toowoomba has added the provision of tertiary services, military installations, public service departments and a university to its traditional role as a commercial, agricultural and educational centre. The first Toowoomba town hall was built in in James Street and was the first town hall ever built in Queensland.

To fund the construction of School House, the Act allowed for the provision of a financial grant from the Colonial Government and for the calling of private subscriptions from local citizens.

These generous citizens were mainly the graziers and farming families of the Darling Downs, and the professional and business people of Toowoomba. As part of the design brief, the building had to include, amongst other things, one large classroom for pupils. Further branches from the main western line were opened to Haden, Millmerran, Cooyar and Cecil Plains By most of the pastoral estates had been resumed for closer-settlement.

The livestock saleyards, however, were kept busy with cattle from the western plains. A similar enterprise arose from dairy farmers feeding skimmed milk to pigs, the Darling Downs Co-operative Bacon Association , which constructed a factory at Willowburn, 4 km west of Toowoomba. Toowoomba was known both as the 'Gateway to' and 'Queen City of' the Darling Downs, being raised to the status of 'city' in Its touristic and recreational qualities were confirmed by the Governor taking the Harlaxton homestead as his summer residence: the Darling Downs Souvenir booklet observed that 'nearly feet above the level of the sea Toowoomba is blessed with a glorious clime.

Even the hottest summer days are followed by lovely cool nights'. It predicted that tourists would be attracted in large numbers. For Anglo-Celtic and German populations, the ease with which exotics such as plane trees, willows and Norfolk Island pines grew in Toowoomba was a balm to heat-oppressed minds. Annuals and perennials grew equally well in a climate both temperate and sub-tropical.

The Spring Carnival of Flowers became a major tourist attraction, with dahlias 10 inches in diameter. Architecture also tended to the exotic, avoiding the raised timber houses typical in other parts of the state, and using finely cut Helidon stone for public buildings.

Monuments were erected to local notables and heroes, including George Essex Evans patriotic poet and Littleton Groom, lawyer and politician, son of William. William Peak, one of the founders and a life member of the Toowoomba Agricultural and Horticultural Society, was commemorated in a drinking fountain, while World War I casualties were remembered in the Mothers' Memorial.

By its population was about 40, Half a century later this figure had doubled. Although its long term postwar growth did not match that of Townsville and Cairns, the population increase was impressive for an inland city. Manufacturing remained important, recording This was despite the decline of the Downs dairy industry and the loss of the co-operative butter and bacon factories.

Wholesale and retail employment, however, recorded more than one-fifth of total employment, In the Under Secretary of Public Land proclaimed Toowoomba and the surrounding areas as a township.

By , the existing Town Hall was inadequate for the demands of a growing community. Council offered a prize of 25 guineas for the best design. The new building was opened in and still stands in Ruthven Street today. At noon on 20 October Toowoomba's status of a township was changed to a city and every bell and horn was sounded for half a minute to celebrate the event.

A suburban rail motor service commenced in May, , running to Wyreema , 10 miles 16 km away. It was extended to Cambooya and to Willowburn in They ceased around The Second World War saw an invasion by American and Australian troops who took over the parks and major buildings for recreational, hospital and training purposes.

Downlands College was opened in Since the s, Toowoomba has added the provision of tertiary services, military installations, public service departments to its traditional role as a commercial, agricultural and educational centre. Queensland's first female mayor, Nellie E.