reader TOOWOOMBA
Toowoomba’s Free Regional Magazine
USQ Japanese Gardens
USQ Japanese Gardens
From the Editor Welcome to our first edition of Toowoomba Reader. With a very simple start, we are launching a new concept for this wonderful city; a free, easily accessible “magazine” that we hope will expand and grow to be a magazine showcasing all the wonderful things our beautiful city has to offer not only it’s residents, but also our visitors. Enjoy, Andrew
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contents 4 QUEENS PARK PICTORIAL Winter can still be a beautiful notion in Toowoomba’s grand park.
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PICTORIAL
QUEENS PAR
Photography pictorial by M
“I love blue sk 04
RK
Melinda Kiss
the park, especially at that moment just before dusk, when the kies make way for dull oranges and reds, it becomes magical.� Melinda Kiss 05
When someone asks me about Toowoomba I often bumble out something stereotypical. I mean, it’s quite a complex question. What is it about Toowoomba that I want to exude? Where do I put my focus, what is the image I want people to walk away with when I describe the “semi-rural” city I live in? So often I end up talking about parks because Toowoomba is very much spoilt for choice and let’s face it, they’re the highlight, a trophy room of sorts, something we can be very proud of indeed. But then I think, what if they come for a visit? Which park best sums up our city? The answer is of course Queens Park, the large green space which, when looking on Google Maps, appears as large as a golf course or two, and is right near the city; it’s green space as it should be. In a way, it’s very much like Central Park in New York; it’s surrounded by buildings, very close to the action and, a lot of action takes place here. Often it’s this park that is transformed into a festival venue, or a local training facility for a boot camp group, or simply a buzz of charming family activity on the weekends when kids seem to over run the place. Walking through the park is somewhat of a contradiction, like from the Margaret/ Hume Street corner where at first impression it’s rather bland and uninviting, this is the part where a lot of grass allows a circus to set up, or a fenced off area to be created for an event. But if your legs can take it, and you walk a little further away from the CBD, the park closes in, manicured hedges appear, a playground here or there, and even further, a dense group of shrubbery encloses water features and manicured glimpses of European formality. I like this place very much. A simple seat, an interesting tree, some beautiful colours, Queen’s park can still offer in abundance to those who visit during the dropping temperatures.
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The Camphor trees in Queens Park are considered a weed; the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) have continued to provide permission for plantings as many sections of the park are considered to be “heritage avenues�.
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We hope you’ve enjoyed our simple beginning. Next edition coming soon… For advertising opportunities and rates, please contact us at toowoombareader@gmail.com
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