Southern Queensland Country, QLD
This is truly where you can escape the pressures of the city, the humidity of the coast and do as much or as little as you please. Sample delicious stone fruits straight from the grower. Tour wineries and taste award-winning wines. Explore the region’s history and heritage. Take a bushwalk in spectacular national parks or share the romance of an open log fire. Try your hand at freshwater fishing or fossicking, or go sailing on the region’s dams. In the Southern Downs you experience real country life and hospitality.
The region provides a natural alternative to the cities and beaches of the coastal area. The Southern Downs stretches from Cunningham’s Gap in the east, north to Clifton, south to the border town of Wallangarra, and to Inglewood in the west. The region prides itself on its old-fashioned hospitality. The principal towns are Warwick, Stanthorpe, Killarney, Allora, Inglewood, Texas and Clifton.
Queensland’s Southern Downs region has a diverse geography, from the rolling fertile hills of the Warwick Shire, the high altitude granite rock country of Stanthorpe Shire, to the wide open plains of the Inglewood and Clifton Shires.
Queensland’s Southern Downs region is steeped in history; the area boasts some of Queensland’s finest restored sandstone and timber buildings , including Abbey of the Roses, Talgai Homestead and Glengallan Homestead which is a Queensland Heritage Trails Network Project. A Heritage Trail booklet is available for a small fee from visitor information centres within the region, providing information on the historical buildings through out the area.
Queensland’s Southern Downs region has a number of art galleries, historical museums, pottery and craft, antiques and collectibles stores for visitors to enjoy. Markets are held most weekends within the region, and allow visitors to purchases fresh produce and locally made craft items.
Toowoomba And Golden West Region, QLD
Explore the Western Downs, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.
In the heart of South East Queensland Country is Toowoomba, situated on the crest of the Great Dividing Range. An easy hour drive south of this area, and you are in Steele Rudd Country. Throughout the shires of Cambooya, Pittsworth and Millmerran explore the pioneer history and writings of Arthur Hoey Davis.
North into the Eastern Downs you will explore galleries, nurseries, host farms, bed and breakfasts and museums. Drive the designated Tourist Drives through Crows Nest, Rosalie, Jondaryan, Dalby and the Bunya Mountains.
West of Toowoomba you can broaden your horizons in the Western Downs region. This expansive area covers the shires of Chinchilla, Murilla, Taroom, Tara, Waggamba, Balonne, Bendemere, Bungil, Wambo, Waroo, Millmerran and the towns of Roma and Goondiwindi. Your experiences here will be wide and varied from nature based activities like bushwalking and birdwatching to warm, hearty country cuisine and hospitality.
Stay for a while
Visitors are delighted by the region’s stately 19th century farmhouses, their spacious timber verandahs overlooking gardens blooming with lavender, wisteria and flowering crab-apples, set against subtropical vistas of farms and bushland.
Toowoomba on Queensland’s Darling Downs is a haven for travellers wanting to unwind and indulge in life’s little pleasures. The streets are lined with spreading camphor laurels and cosy coffee houses, bookstores, antique galleries and restaurants. For fine examples of colonial architecture, stroll Mary and Campbell Streets; or discover in the Botanical Gardens and Queens Park a serenity seldom found in a city.
Perhaps stay in town at gracious Vacy Hall, a guesthouse evoking the leisurely spirit of the 1800s. Or opt for Argyle Homestead, a heritage-listed, bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in the country outside Toowoomba, built in 1884 on 19 hectares. Argyle is run by Ross and Julie Smith, who excel at making guests feel welcome. Just down the road, the quaint and homely Farmers’ Arms pub offers delicious country cooking, an impressive wine cellar and an welcoming open fire in winter.
Talgai Homestead, another lovely heritage-listed property, stands on 307.5 hectares of prime grazing land outside the town of Allora in the Southern Downs. Inside this sandstone-block residence, the piano imported from England by the original owners in 1870 is still used. Talgai isn’t far from Toowoomba and the wineries of Stanthorpe. It’s a two-hour drive from Brisbane.
Southern Queensland Country Destinations
- Acland
- Allora
- Amby
- Bell
- Bollon
- Bowenville
- Brookstead
- Broxburn
- Bunya Mountains
- Cabarlah
- Cambooya
- Cecil Plains
- Chinchilla
- Clifton
- Clontarf
- Columboola
- Condamine
- Cooyar
- Crows Nest
- Dalby
- Daymar
- Dirranbandi
- Drillham
- Dulacca
- Gatton
- Glenmorgan
- Goombungee
- Goondiwindi
- Gowrie Junction
- Greenmount
- Haden
- Hampton
- Hebel
- Highfields
- Inglewood
- Injune
- Jackson
- Jandowae
- Jimbour
- Jondaryan
- Kaimkillenbun
- Killarney
- Kingsthorpe
- Kogan
- Kulpi
- Laidley
- Leyburn
- Maclagan
- Meandarra
- Meringandan
- Meringandan West
- Miles
- Millmerran
- Mitchell
- Moonie
- Mount Tyson
- Muckadilla
- Mungallala
- Nindigully
- Oakey
- Pechey
- Peranga
- Perseverence
- Pittsworth
- Ravensbourne
- Roma
- Southbrook
- Spring Bluff
- St George
- Stanthorpe
- Stonehenge
- Surat
- Tara
- Texas
- Thallon
- The Gums
- Toobeah
- Toowoomba
- Vale View
- Wallumbilla
- Wandoan
- Warwick
- Westbrook
- Westmar
- Yarraman
- Yelarbon
- Yuleba
Experiences
- Caravan and Camping
- Farm/Station
Popular Activities
- Off Road Driving
- Mountain Biking
- Trail bike riding
- Bird Watching
- Bush Walking
- Canoeing
- Rock Climbing
- Cycling
- Driving
- Golfing
- Horse Riding
- Scenic Flight
- Shopping
- Sightseeing
- Swimming
- Wine Tasting
- National Park
- Winery
- Fruit Picking
- Fossicking
- Gold prospecting
- Jet Boating
About Southern Queensland Country
- State: Queensland
- Region: Southern Country
