Toowoomba City, Queensland

Toowoomba City is an urban locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia.
It is the central suburb of Toowoomba, containing its central business district and informally known as the Toowoomba CBD. In the, Toowoomba City had a population of 2,321 people.

Geography

The suburb is roughly rectangular, bounded to the north by Bridge Street, to the east by Hume Street, to the south by James Street, and to the west by West Street.
Toowoomba railway station is in Russell Street. It serves the city of Toowoomba, and is the junction and terminus for the Main Line railway from Brisbane, the Western railway from Cunnamulla, and Southern railway from Wallangarra on the Queensland – New South Wales border.
Mort Estate is a neighbourhood in the north-west of the suburb. It takes its name from an 1862 land sale by Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and Henry Mort.

History

Toowoomba North Boys State School and Toowoomba North Girls and Infants State School both opened in 1869. In 1937, the two schools were combined to form Toowoomba North State School.
In 1881, a Baptist church opened in Toowoomba.
The Holy Name Primary School was opened on 23 January 1905 by the Sisters of Mercy who were already operating the school at St Patrick's Church. The Holy Name school was burned down on 4 August 1919, so the school operated from the Mr and Mrs Hannant on the corner of West and Norwood Streets, until the school was rebuilt. Archbishop James Duhig laid the foundation school for the new church and school on 23 November 1919 and officially opened it on 23 January 1921.
The Toowoomba City library opened in 2016. The Toowoomba local history library opened in 1999 with a major refurbishment in 2016.

Demographics

In the, Toowoomba City had a population of 2,281 people.
In the, Toowoomba City had a population of 2,088 people.
In the, Toowoomba City had a population of 2,321 people.

Heritage listings

There are many heritage-listed sites in Toowoomba City, including:

Tawa, 9 Boulton Street
Harris House, 1 Clifford Street
St Luke's Anglican Church, Herries Street
Soldiers Memorial Hall, 149 Herries Street
St Luke's Church Hall, 152 Herries Street
Toowoomba Post Office, 136 Margaret Street
Strand Theatre, 159–167 Margaret Street
Exchange Building, 245–253 Margaret Street
Carlton House, 3 Mill Street
Toowoomba North State School, 139 Mort Street
St James Church, 145 Mort Street
Toowoomba Court House, 46 Neil Street
Toowoomba Police Station Complex, 50–52 Neil Street
Wesley Uniting Church, 54 Neil Street
Empire Theatre, 56 & 56A Neil Street
Men's Toilet, Russell Street
Toowoomba railway station, Russell Street
Toowoomba Permanent Building Society, 2 Russell Street
Toowoomba Trades Hall, 19A Russell Street
St James Parish Hall, 112 Russell Street
Clifford House, 120 Russell Street
Kensington, 126 Russell Street
Wislet, 127 Russell Street
Vacy Hall, 135 Russell Street:
Toowoomba Foundry, 251–267 Ruthven Street
Defiance Flour Mill, 269–291 Ruthven Street
Pigott's Building, 381–391 Ruthven Street
Karingal Chambers, 386–388 Ruthven Street
Alexandra Building, 451–455 Ruthven Street
White Horse Hotel, 456 Ruthven Street
Toowoomba City Hall, 541 Ruthven Street
Laurel Bank Park, corner of West Street, Hill Street and Herries Street
Shopping

Toowoomba City contains two significant shopping centres, presently under the same ownership. Grand Central Shopping Centre, with a GLA of, contains the region's only Myer store, as well as a Coles, Target and 145 specialty stores. Garden Town Shopping Centre, across Gowrie Creek and containing a GLA of , contains a Supa IGA supermarket, Best & Less and Lincraft along with 40 other stores. Both are currently owned by QIC, following its acquisition of Garden Town in January 2009 from Aspen Group, they are now being redeveloped to join via a two level galleria to form one shopping centre.
Two smaller centres, the Hooper Centre and a homeware centre, and street shopping along Ruthven Street round out the city centre's retail offerings. There is also a small shopping area on the corner of Ramsay and South streets called Southtown. It contains several eating places, supermarket, newsagent and Post Office.

Transport

Toowoomba City is situated at the intersection of the New England Highway and Warrego Highway, and contains Toowoomba railway station. The city's bus interchange is on Neil Street, from which various buses depart for the suburbs. Toowoomba also has a taxi facility available.

Education

Toowoomba North State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at 139 Mort Street. It includes a special education program. In 2015, the school had an enrolment of 157 students with 12 teachers. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 142 students with 11 teachers and 15 non-teaching staff.
Holy Name Primary School is a Catholic primary school for boys and girls at 188 Bridge Street. It is a Mercy tradition school. In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 154 students with 12 teachers and 8 non-teaching staff. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 140 students with 11 teachers and 9 non-teaching staff.
There are no secondary schools in Toowoomba City. The nearest government secondary schools are:

Toowoomba State High School in Mount Lofty to the north-east
Centenary Heights State High School in Centenary Heights to the south-east
Harristown State High School in neighbouring Harristown to the south-west
Libraries

The Tooowoomba City library is located at 155 Herries Street. The library is open seven days a week.
The local history library is located at 155 Herries Street. The local history library has a comprehensive archival collection that is of local, state and national significance, including the Robinson Collection named after Toowoomba's first female mayor Nellie E. Robinson. This comprehensive collection contains records from local personalities, businesses and community organizations.
Both libraries are operated by the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Community groups

The Toowoomba branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 263 Margaret Street and the Toowoomba City Business Women's branch meets at 161 Margaret Street.