Heritage Treasures of the Toowoomba Region 2013 6791801HeritageTreasuresOfTheToowoombaRegion2013 | Page 6

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Part A
Appreciating
Natural Assets
A1
L
andscapes develop in response to underlying rock structures,
climate and land use over time. The landscapes of the
Toowoomba Region relate to a volcanic structure affected by
variations in climate and land use over more than 20 million years.
Aborigines who inhabited the region for more than 40,000 years
relied on food sources associated with the natural waterways and
grasslands. In the 1840s, European settlers were also attracted to the
lush pastures for their sheep and commercial activities soon followed.
A store was established in Drayton in 1843. However, within ten years
an unreliable water supply led to some settlers relocating to a nearby
swampy depression which became the city of Toowoomba.
View from St Matthew’s Church, Drayton
If we ignore man-made elements, this view is little changed
from the one which greeted the first European settlers who
ventured into this area in 1840. This is also the landscape
familiar to the Aboriginal people and contains valued places of
cultural significance.
It was a fertile land with valleys containing soils from eroded
volcanic material still to be found in the isolated uplands with
their remnant vegetation.
To the east, we see more remnants of this volcanic turmoil
in the escarpment, which proved so rich in timber, but for
many years acted as a barrier to the coast. It also served as a
watershed dividing the river systems of the Pacific from those of
the Murray-Darling.
A2
Mt Tabletop
In 1829, Allan Cunningham noted in his journal ‘a singular
flat-topped hill’ which he named Twiss’s Table Mount.
Subsequently, it was known as One Tree Hill and now as
Mt Tabletop.
With its neighbouring hills it is a reminder of the sequence of
volcanic activities from which Mt Tabletop was formed. Over 20
million years ago, a crater filled with lava which slowly solidified,
forming basalt. This has been exposed by the erosion of the
surrounding rocks to form the familiar ‘flat-top’.
For thousands of years it has held special significance for
the Indigenous peoples of the area.
A1
A3 The Range Volcanics
A4 Bluestone Kerb and Channel
Evidence of the volcanic upheavals which formed the basis
of the Toowoomba area has been exposed in railway and road
cuttings and in local quarries. In 1904 the Bridge Street Quarry
was identified as exhibiting excellent examples of volcanic
features including vents, volcanic ash and basalt columns.
As quarrying has ceased, these features are preserved for
future study.
Bluestone (basalt) was used for the kerbing and guttering of
older streets such as Mort, Arthur and Campbell and is a feature
of Toowoomba’s identity which Council strives to preserve.
In 1862, it was used in the construction of the Toowoomba
Gaol. In addition to its use in major buildings, bluestone is also
used for civic and private walls, fences and paving.
Crushed bluestone – blue metal – continues to be used in
road making.
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A3
Herries Street Bridge
London plane trees overhang this picturesque basalt bridge.
It spans East Creek, earlier an impassable swamp, which
was drained in 1874.
The bridge is constructed from bluestone, continuing the
traditional use of basalt from Toowoomba’s quarries.
It was designed by the late Murray Clewett, Council engineer
and manager of Strategic Planning in the 1990s.
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