Darling Downs

The Darling Downs are west of the Dividing Range, extending to a plain reaching to Miles and Goondiwindi. It is a complex region and is described in more detail below. The Downs were encountered by Alan Cunningham 1791-1839 when his expedition crossed the Dumaresq River in 1827. The following year he found a gap in the ranges near Warwick, providing access from Moreton Bay. Cunningham named the Downs after Sir Ralph Darling, Governor of New South Wales (1825-1831).

Further Reading: 

Maurice French and Duncan Waterson, The Darling Downs: a pictorial history 1850-1950, Toowoomba, Darling Downs Institute Press, 1980

R.H. Greenwood, The Darling Downs, Melbourne, Longmans Green, 1957

Darling Downs Queensland: the garden of Australia, Brisbane, Queensland Intelligence and Tourist Bureau, 1908

Doreen O'Sullivan, Dairying history of the Darling Downs, Toowoomba, USQ Press, 1992

Headwords: 

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