What is the Darling Downs?
The Darling Downs is a fertile farming region in southeast Queensland, west of the Great Dividing Range. It is centered on the city of Toowoomba and is known for rich black soils and productive agriculture.
The region was named by the explorer Allan Cunningham in 1827 after Ralph Darling, the Governor of New South Wales. Its open grasslands soon attracted pastoralists who brought sheep and cattle.
The deep black soils of the Downs are some of the best cropping land in Australia. Farmers grow wheat, barley, sorghum, cotton, chickpeas and sunflowers, and many properties also raise cattle, pigs and poultry.
Towns and industry
Toowoomba is the region's largest city and is known for its gardens and the Carnival of Flowers held each September. Other towns include Dalby, Warwick, Stanthorpe and Chinchilla.
The Granite Belt around Stanthorpe, at the southern edge of the region, is a cooler district known for wine and apples. The western Downs area is also home to coal seam gas production and large solar farms.
The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, a bypass route that opened in 2019, improved freight transport between the Downs and the Port of Brisbane.
Did You Know?
Dalby is often described as one of the main grain-handling centers of Queensland.