Historic Toowoomba: City Hall and the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall

Once upon a time, before Covid, the CBD used to be a very busy place. On any given morning it was not unusual to see workers and shoppers scurrying past heritage buildings with scarcely a thought to their history or significance. Growing up in Adelaide I did the same thing. Week in and week out …

Historic Toowoomba – the Regional Art Gallery

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.Aristotle What is art? Ask this question and you will get a myriad of answers. Art, like beauty, seems to be in the eye of the beholder. I am not very good at art. In fact, I failed it …

Historic Toowoomba – the Ups and Downs of Showbiz

The Empire Theatre, Toowoomba We love the arts. Music, dance, musical theatre, film, literature…we love them all and enjoy expanding our horizons and experience of the arts whenever we can. Toowoomba has the largest performing arts centre in regional Australia, the Empire Theatre, and it has a fascinating history. We have attended many performances at …

Historic Toowoomba – Heritage Churches in the City Centre

Not something we'd ever see in Toowoomba! It is not surprising to find old churches regularly listed on historical walks. With their gothic arches, steep roofs and stained glass windows they are incredibly beautiful buildings and even when they are no longer being used as a worship centre, they can make interesting homes, galleries and …

Historic Toowoomba – the Long Arm of the Law

For those of us who are law abiding citizens, the inner workings of the police station and law courts may be a mystery. I have never been inside a court room and only visited the Toowoomba Police station once and that was to hand in a lost wallet I found outside our house. The little …

Historic Toowoomba – the Post Office

The post office has a great charm at one point of our lives. When you have lived to my age, you will begin to think letters are never worth going through the rain for. - Jane Austen Do you remember the last time you received a handwritten letter in the mail box? Walking down to …

Historic Toowoomba – Indigenous History

Gumbi Gumbi Gardens, Toowoomba, QLD As a student of history I love learning about the past. I love learning about the way people lived, the challenges they faced, and the developments that have occurred over time. The history of humanity is a pretty mixed bag, though. There have been great achievements and there have been …

Queens Park, Toowoomba

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter. Rachel Carson There is an old Chinese proverb that says the three greatest physicians in life are nature, time and patience. I think it is interesting that nature is listed first. It …

#BookSnapSunday – Regeneration

I am a little late with this week’s Book Snap. I had to take a trip to emergency with Dan. Long arms and ceiling fans are not a good combination. Fortunately nothing was broken, just two fingers gashed and a couple of nasty bruised and swollen joints. Dan has quite long bony fingers and it’s …

#Book Snap on a Tuesday – That Deadman Dance

I am running a little behind with this week's Book Snap, but better late than never. That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2011 and is pictured above in the Gumbi Gumbi Gardens at USQ in Toowoomba. Set in Western Australia, the book's central focus is Bobby, a young …