15 Facts About Darling Downs

Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia.

The Darling Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland.

The name Darling Downs was given in 1827 by Allan Cunningham, the first European explorer to reach the area and recognises the then Governor of New South Wales, Ralph Darling.

Largest city and commercial centre of the Darling Downs is Toowoomba about 132 kilometres west of Brisbane.

Darling Downs Down is situated in the drainage basins of the Condamine River and Maranoa River and tributaries.

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The majority of the Darling Downs has a humid subtropical climate although some areas experience a semi-arid or subtropical highland climate.

Part of the Darling Downs, which includes the towns of Allora, Clifton, Warwick, Killarney and the rocky district in the south known as the Granite Belt, is known as the Southern Downs.

Originally, the Darling Downs was covered with a wealth of indigenous grasses which created an ideal verdure for stock eight months of the year.

The Darling Downs Aborigines had an annual burning season at the time when the indigenous grasses were ripe and dry.

The Darling Downs tribes spoke one common dialect, called Waccah and so to all other surrounding tribes were known as the Wacca-burra.

Darling Downs then became known as the 'jewel in the diadem of squatterdom' with an elite 'pure merino' class living in comfortable houses.

Darling Downs contains the largest deposit of rich black agricultural soils in Australia.

In 2021, examination of a partial skull revealed a site on the Darling Downs was the location for a new species of Tomistominae crocodile, representing the largest extinct crocodile species ever discovered in Australia.

The Darling Downs hopping mouse and paradise parrot have both become extinct since cattle farming began.

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Darling Downs was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location".