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Townson - QLD
Population -
Situated 22km south of Laidley at the southern end of the Laidley Valley, Townson is a small farming community.
The scenery of the valley is worth the drive and at the end is a small campground. There are no facilities here other than a shelter shed. Camping is free for the first 2 nights. Back along the road to Laidley is Thornton, which has camping and toilets at Centenary Park (first 2 nights free), and Mulgowie, which has the friendly Mulgowie Hotel.
The Laidley Plains area was first traversed by Europeans when Allan Cunningham passed this way on June 19th 1829 on one of his expeditions of exploration, and which he named after James Laidley, the New South Wales deputy-commissary-general .
J. P. Robinson settled in the area in 1840's and named his property Laidley Plains Station. The Town was proclaimed in 1879 but didn't become a burrough until 1902.
Laidley was originally established as a staging post between Ipswich and Toowoomba for bullock teamsters, drovers and Cobb and Co Stages, by a lagoon which was a good water supply, an inn was soon built and a village soon grew on the site. As the area was opened up for agriculture by clearing the native scrub, sheep grazing was the mainstay of the area, then as the area grew more farming took over, eventually leading to the area becoming the hub of vegetable production.
Laidley today has become a popular and a convenient place to reside while commuting to the larger Centres of Toowoomba, Ipswich and Brisbane.
There are many types of accommodation to choose from around the Laidley Valley, from Bed & Breakfast, Motel, Guesthouses, Self Catered, Camping, Cabins and Caravan Parks are available.
At Townson is a small campground. There are no facilities here other than a shelter shed. Camping is free for the first 2 nights.
Camping and toilets are available at Centenary Park in Thornton. The first 2 nights are free.
The Lake Dyer Camping & Caravan Grounds at Bill Gunn Dam, 1.5km out of Laidley on the Laidley - Gatton Road, offers free camping for the first 2 nights of any 7 day cycle. The park has powered sites and camping sites, Toilets, showers, a playground, shelter sheds, picnic facilities and wood BBQs, not to mention great fishing! (Although You will need a permit to fish). There is a $20 refundable deposit on the shower and gate key. Gates open at 6am and are locked at 6pm. The Managers, Donna and Herb, can be contacted on 07 54653698 or 0439368561.
Whatever your style, you'll find a great place to stay in the Laidley Valley.
There are a few Tours that visit the Laidley Valley region, from both Brisbane and Ipswich.
There are many Things To See and Do around the Laidley Valley and it is a great place to base Yourself for Your stay.
Start with a visit to the Laidley Visitor Information Centre.
Laidley Tourism Information Centre
Laidley Pioneer Museum
Cnr Drayton & Pioneer Streets
Laidley
Queensland, 4341
Phone 07 5465 3241
Email:
www.lockyervalley.qld.gov.au
Or visit the
Ipswich Visitor Information Centre
14 Queen Victoria Parade,
PO Box 243
Ipswich
Queensland, 4305
Phone 07 3281 0555
Fax 07 3281 0199
Email: info@ipswichtourism.com.au
www.ipswichtourism.com.au
# Take a walk around the village of Laidley. Places of interest include:
- The Clydesdale Statue which commemorates these hard working animals and their efforts in the early Years of settlement on farms and properties. Each year the Laidley Heavy Horse Field Day Association holds a Show and Field Day, and animals are brought considerable distances to compete in the show.
- The Second Childhood Museum in the centre of town with its collection of old toys and circus paraphernalia.
- The Das Neumann Haus, located just off the main street on the corner of William and Patrick Streets, is a fascinatingly idiosyncratic building built by Herman Neumann, a local carpenter and cabinet maker, and for many years was used as the family residence as well as a furniture showroom. Local volunteers have restored, and furnished it in the art deco style of the 1930's.
- Laidley Historical Society Museum, which has a pioneer village, is located on the old road through to Toowoomba. The pioneer village includes a superbly preserved slab hut, an old gaol, a general store, butchers shop and a number of other interesting buildings.
The Laidley Historical Society Museum is open Sundays 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. or by appointment and is located to the south of the town on an old paddock which used to be a resting paddock for the Cobb & Co horses.
- Next door to the Pioneer Village is the Narda Lagoon Conservation Area, which includes an historic Suspension Bridge and several nice walks. There are also Picnic Facilities, BBQ's, a playground and Toilets.
- Cunningham's Crest Lookout ion the Little Liverpool Range, where Alan Cunningham Crossed the range in 1829. The lookout commemorates Cunningham and the pioneers of the Laidley area and offers excellent views of the Laidley Valley and gives a great appreciation of the rich agricultural patchwork of farm fields.
- Schultz's Lookout in the Blenheim Hills over looks the Laidley Valley and gives a great appreciation of the rich agricultural patchwork of farm fields.
# Mulgowie Hotel at Mulgowie is renowned for its Bull Ride in February, but also has great hospitality every day and Ride practices most Wednesdays.
# The Annual Laidley Rodeo is held in March.
# Take in the sights and sounds of the Laidley Markets - held on the last Saturday of each month.
# The Laidley Spring Festival is held in the area in September.
# Sample some wines at Warrego Wines Winery at nearby Marburg.
# Take a visit to the Bill Gunn Dam, 1.5 km west of the town on the Laidley - Gatton Road, it was developed to increase the capacity of the existing Lake Dyer, a natural lake adjacent to Laidley Creek. The 1170 m long earthfill structure has a maximum height of 12 m and an overflow spillway which diverts excess water into Laidley Creek. The Dam has a storage capacity of 6950 ML and a maximum surface area of 108 ha. The Lake Dyer Camping & Caravan Grounds are also here, offering powered sites and camping sites, Toilets, showers, a playground, shelter sheds, picnic facilities and wood BBQs, not to mention great fishing!
# Mulgowie Hotel at Mulgowie is renowned for its Bull Ride in February, but also has great hospitality every day and Ride practices most Wednesdays.
# Visit the Grandchester Railway Station - the oldest in Queensland just down the road at Grandchester.
# Visit the Australian Motorcycle Museum at Haigslea. The Museum is ideally located on 35 acres at Haigslea, 50km west of Brisbane on the Warrego Highway.
# The Brisbane Valley Lakes are all within an easy reach of Laidley. These include Lake Wivenhoe and Lake Somerset.
Finding somewhere to Eat out in the Laidley Valley is fairly easy, with several excellent options to try.
- The Laidley Hotel Serves lunch and dinner.
- The Mulgowie Hotel Serves dinner Friday night, lunch and dinner Saturday and dinner Sundays.
For the Sports person both Golf and Bowls clubs are well situated in Laidley.
Explorer Allan Cunningham first entered the area in 1829. Cunningham named it Laidley's Plain after the Deputy Commissary General of the colony of New South Wales. In the 1840s drovers and their stock rested near a lagoon and wagons stopped in the area after climbing the Little Liverpool Range west of Marburg on the main road route between Ipswich and Toowoomba. An inn was built near the lagoon and town developed around this stopping camp and became known as Laidley. The area began being cleared for sheep grazingin the 1850s and soon became a centre of agriculture. In the mid 1870s the railway line from Grandchester stopped at a railway station 1.5 km north of the town. Between 1911 and 1955 a branch railway line ran from Laidley along the Laidley Creek to the settlement at Mulgowie.
Until recently the town was the centre of the Shire of Laidley, a former local government area, but this was amalgamated into the Lockyer Valley in 2008.
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