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Toowoomba (also known as the 'Garden City') is a city and Local Government Area of South East Queensland , Australia . It is located 132km west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane , and two hours drive from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast beaches. With a population of 113,687 (2003 ABS estimate), Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city after Canberra , the nation's capital. Toowoomba is often referred to as the (eastern) Gateway to the Darling Downs . =Major city events= CARNIVAL OF FLOWERS The city's major event occurs in September. It is the Carnival of Flowers. Each year the city presents many unique and award winning gardens. Every resident with a garden can enter the competition, and for many days during the festival, tourists and "green thumbs" are allowed to view the otherwise private gardens belonging to entrants Toowoomba. For months before the carnival, the Toowoomba City Council garden workers spend hundreds of hours, creating and maintaining council owned parks and gardens. Each year the Festival attracts thousands of tourists from throughout Australia. Due to population growth, lack of government water planning and climatic variation (drought) the Festival has experienced problems. In 2005, Toowoomba city went on Level 4 water restrictions, meaning citizens could not water gardens, wash cars, fill or even top up pools. The restrictions came just before the carnival and there was some rainfall before the carnival commenced. However citizens share concern over the 2006 event. As well as the water restrictions, the parade that traditionally passes through the city and finishing in Queens Park was cancelled due to wind conditions. This is the first time this has happened in the carnival's history. TOOWOOMBA RASQ SHOW The Toowoomba Royal Agricultural Society Of Queensland Show is an agricultural show held each year at the "new" Toowoomba Showgrounds and Clive Berghofer Events Centre on the city's western outskirts. In addition to education and outreach roles, the Toowoomba Show combines features of a Fair , an arts and craft show, livestock and produce competitions and public entertainments. The Toowoomba Show attracts people from the City and from surrounding rural areas. Cooking, handicrafts, art and photography competitions are well patronised, and the displays of entries are popular with the public. Produce competitions have faded in recent years as Toowoomba's focus has become less rural, and the City has become increasingly urbanised. The "new" Toowoomba Showgrounds are situated at Glenvale having been developed in 1985 after the old inner city showgrounds site was rendered untenable by problems with noise and parking, lack of space and aging facilities. The old Showgrounds site has been redeveloped as the Bridge Street TAFE campus and Mary Street Cobb & Co. Museum site. RASQ Toowoomba Showgrounds Toowoomba Show TOOWOOMBA LIFELINE BOOKFEST March 4 & March 5 2006 RASQ Toowoomba Showgrounds Second hand and vintage book sale held each year around the beginning of March. In 2006 special buses will run. AUSTRALIAN GOSPEL MUSIC FESTIVAL Toowoomba also hosts a Christian Rock Concert over the Easter Long Weekend each year. Similar in format to commercial rock concerts, the majority of events take place inside a fenced enclosure to which tickets may be purchased. AGMF's growth has now made it the largest event on the Darling Downs. The Australian Gospel Music Festival closes off much of the inner city Queens Park reserve for camping and concert venues. Lack of parking and noise issues for inner city residents make the growing AGMF somewhat controversial, as do the substantial annual cash and in-kind donations from Toowoomba City Council. Australian Gospel Music Festival TOOWOOMBA AG SHOW The Toowoomba Ag Show is held at the new Toowoomba Showgrounds each year, in winter. In 2005 it was held in early September. Ag Show has been running since 1992, as a showcase for vehicles, rural and agricultural machinery, technology and innovation. Agshow WATER SUPPLY Toowoomba's third water storage Cressbrook Dam was completed in 1983 and supplied water to Toowoomba in 1988. It has a full capacity of about 80,000 megalitres bringing total capacity of the three dams, Cooby Perserverance and Cressbrook, to 126,000 megalitres. The city also has underground supplies in fractured basalt, it sits above the eastern edge of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) and to the west underground water is available beneath agricultural alluvium. The average rainfall in the period 1998 to 2005 has been 30% below the long term average consistent with a prolonged drought. During March 2006 the surface water storage in the dams fell below 25% of full capacity. Toowoomba City Council s Mayor Dianne Thorley has proposed a controversial potable reuse project under the Toowoomba Water Futures plan which will result in water reclaimed from the Wetalla Sewage Treatment Plant being returned to Cooby Dam to provide 25% of the potable water supply for Toowoomba. Consultant reports indicate that after flocculation, ultrafiltration, Reverse Osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection the product water to be piped to Cooby Dam will contain 30 milligrams per litre Total Dissolved Solids of an unknown composition and unknown Organic Compounds . The City's Director of Engineering Services has presented a report to Council outlining alternative supplies of underground water available to meet demand subject to continuing restrictions on water use. The proposed recycling of water is not seen as a solution to the current water shortage caused by drought. The only world precedent using flocculation, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection to produce potable water from effluent is the Singapore NEWater plant that can produce a maxiumum of 1% of Singapore's drinking water with that limitation proposed to be raised to 2.5% in 2010 after further testing. A submission for funding under the National Water Initiative was prepared without community consultation. Funding approval has been given subject to conditions and on the basis that testing on the Toowoomba community will ensure it is safe to implement in the larger population centres of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. ‘CADS’ (Citizens Against Drinking Sewerage) objecting to the possible unknown outcomes of testing and adverse economic impact on the City, secured a referendum on the proposal. There are no Australian or Queensland guidlines on potable use of reclaimed water. Toowoomba City Council has allocated $760,000 to conduct the referendum of which $460,000 will be used to promote the YES argument and no funds have been allocated to promote the NO argument. Toowoomba City Council has been criticised for preventing public debate on the issue and refusing to properly assess alternative water supplies that exist including newly discovered supplies from developing natural gas fields in the region. =Environment= BUILT ENVIRONMENT Toowoomba's history has been preserved in its buildings. Brilliant examples of fine architecture drawing from the city's wealthy beginning's include Toowoomba City Hall , the National Trust Royal Bull's Head Inn and many examples in the heritage listed Russell Street. Immediately to the east of the CBD is the Caledonian Estate, an area of turn of the 20th Century housing ranging from humble workers cottages to large stately homes, in the classic wooden Queenslander style. Toowoomba also boasts one of the best performing arts theatres in the country. The Empire Theatre was originally opened over 90 years ago in June 1911, as a silent movie house. In February 1933, fire broke out almost completely destroying the Empire Theatre. However, the Empire was rebuilt and was reopened in November 1933. The architectural styling of the new Empire Theatre was Art Deco , in keeping with the trend of the 30's. After years of neglect the Empire Theatre was extensively renovated in the late 1990s, but retains much of the Art Deco architecture and decorations for which it is famous, especially the proscenium arch. Equipped with the most modern of facilities, and able to seat 2,400 people, the Empire Theatre is now the largest regional theatre in Australia. The City also is home to the Cobb & Co Museum , hailing to the famous mail company's beginnings as a small mail run in the 1800's to transport mail and passengers to Brisbane and beyond. It also houses Australia's largest collection of horse-drawn vehicles. Historical buildings Modern buildings GEOGRAPHY Toowoomba is situated at a Latitude and Longitude of . The Postcode of Toowoomba is 4350. The postcode of the Toowoomba Mail Centre is 4352. LANDSCAPE The city sits on the crest of the Great Dividing Range , around 700 metres above sea level. A few streets are on the eastern side of the edge of the range, but the majority of the city is west of the divide. The City occupies the edge of the range and the low ridges behind it. Two valleys run north from the southern boundary, each arising from springs either side of Middle Ridge near Spring Street at an altitude of around 680m. These waterways, East Creek and West Creek flow together just north of the CBD to form Gowrie Creek. Gowrie Creek drains to the west across the Darling Downs and is a tributary of the Condamine River , part of the Murray-Darling Basin . The water flowing down Gowrie Creek makes its way some 3000 km to the mouth of the Murray River near Adelaide in South Australia . Rain which falls on the easternmost streets of Toowoomba flows east to Moreton Bay a distance of around 170 km. CLIMATE Toowoomba enjoys four distinct seasons and the rich volcanic soil in the region helps maintain the 150 public parks that are scattered across the city. Jacaranda and Camphor Laurel trees line many of the city streets. The city's reputation as 'The Garden City' is highlighted during the Australian Carnival of Flowers festival held in September each year. Deciduous trees from around the world line many of the parks, giving a display of Autumn colour rarely see in Australia , a continent that is almost entirely forested with evergreens. Temperatures in Toowoomba average 27 degrees Celsius in summer and 15 degrees Celsius in winter. Late summer sees temperatures as high as 39°C. Winter temperatures seldom go below freezing. Snow has been reported on the higher parts of the city on rare occasions but never settles. Below average rainfall, coupled with population growth has seen water restrictions imposed, including a ban on watering lawns, while allowing bucket watering of plantings. It is expected that a complete ban on garden watering will come into play sometime in late 2006. =History= see Toowoomba, Queensland History
=Government and politics= : see main article Toowoomba, Queensland Politics LOCAL GOVERNMENT Toowoomba contains and largely consists of the City of Toowoomba (governed by the Toowoomba City Council), but the last twenty years has seen the rapid growth of satellite towns and an expanding urban fringe in the surrounding largely rural shires. Recently Toowoomba City Councillor Lyle Shelton has called for Toowoomba's boundaries to be expanded to encompass the area some refer to as "Greater Toowoomba". Toowoomba City Council The City of Toowoomba is a Local Government Area in Queensland , approximately 150km west of Brisbane . Toowoomba City Council offers a variety of cultural services to the community, including the Municipal Library and the Toowoomba Art Gallery. The council restored and substantially funds The Empire Theatre . The current mayor is Dianne Thorley . In 2005 the Mayor proposed a controversial plan to recycle sewage into one of the dams to be used for drinking water. This project has not yet been approved by Council, nor has Federal government funding been approved. http://www.toowoombawater.com.au/]. Greater Toowoomba Includes parts of: STATE GOVERNMENT The two seats that are drawn from Toowoomba City itself are Toowoomba North and Toowoomba South . Those western suburbs of Greater Toowoomba that lie in the Shire of Jondaryan form part of the seat of Darling Downs . In addition, the southern suburbs of Toowoomba lie in the seat of Cunningham . FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Toowoomba has formed the core of a Commonwealth electoral seat since Federation . Originally Darling Downs , the seat was abolished and the new seat of Groom was created in 1984 , with the effect (largely) of renaming the seat. The seat has always been held by the non-Labor parties. Ian MacFarlane has held the seat since 1998, for the Liberal Party Of Australia . =Economy= The city has twice been voted the best city to live in Australia. Factors which influenced this included the city's low cost of living, pleasant surroundings, clean air and the safe, friendly atmosphere. It has the benefits of city living without the pollution. The largest industry employers in Toowoomba (2004) are retail trade (17.8%); health and community services (13.3%); manufacturing (12.2%); and education (11.1%). Professional employment was the most prominent occupation (18.2%) followed by clerical, sales and service workers (17.7%) and tradespersons and related workers (13.3%). The City also boasts many large shopping centres including Grand Central Shopping Centre, Garden Town, Clifford Gardens and KMart Plaza. RETAIL Toowoomba normal retail hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Saturday. Most major retailers and specialty stores open Thursday evenings, especially in summer. Major grocery stores etc are not open Sundays and Public Holidays. PUBLIC TRANSPORT A new bus timetable is expected after Easter 2006. There are bus services throughout the city from around 9:00am to around 5:00pm Monday to Friday. A limit service runs Saturday. Students at the University Of Southern Queensland may experience difficulties using buses to reach class commencing at 8:00am or reach home after classes finishing at 6:00pm. Students are advised to obtain a Transport card to ensure discount fares. There are bus services to Brisbane and other centres, however these are intercity services and comparatively expensive. Toowoomba has a twice a week rail service from Brisbane to Charleville, Queensland and return on QR's Westlander. Taxi fare from the CBD to the edge of the city is usually under $20. =Sister cities=
=Education= Toowoomba is regarded nationally as a major educational centre. PRIMARY
SECONDARY Toowoomba has been claimed to have more secondary schools per capita than any other Australian city.
TERTIARY
=Health= Toowoomba is serviced by one public hospital, . =Notable people= Notable current and former residents of Toowoomba include:
=Media= NEWSPAPERS
RADIO STATIONS AM
FM
TELEVISION Toowoomba is serviced by 4 commercial stations and 2 non commercial stations.
News for Toowoomba is broadcast every weeknight at 6:00 on WIN Television. On weekends, news is relayed from Brisbane on 7,9 and 10. The current newsreaders on WIN News are Ann-Louise Kruger (Main news), Pat O'Shea (Sports) and Peter Byrne (Weather). Channel 7 and 10 have a physical presence but news programs focused on the Toowoomba region do not exist on these channels. Instead they have news bulletins broadcast from Brisbane at 5:00 on Ten and 6:00 on Seven respectively. Austar, is the only subscription television service available to Toowoomba viewers. EXTERNAL LINKS
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