Queensland’s town of Toowoomba was a major star at the Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Towns Awards in April, taking out three awards, including the major title, Australia’s tidiest town for 2008.
Situated above the Great Dividing Range, 125 kilometres west of Brisbane, Toowoomba has a rich and varied history and is recognised as the ‘Garden City’, with its welcoming garden displays at major entries into the City.
Toowoomba’s water education programs earned Council the national Water Conservation Award. Broad and extensive, the programs have helped the City address drought and severe water restrictions, while innovative ‘Turn of a Tap’ educational resources set national standards and provide a great teaching resource for the City’s schools.
Numerous voluntary environmental community groups also work in partnership with Council to contribute to Toowoomba’s well managed environment. The local Sustainable Home project is an ideal example of partnerships between Local and State Government, business and industry to achieve a positive environmental outcome. This earned Toowoomba the national Environmental Innovation Award.
Congratulating the City on its prestigious win, Toowoomba born Australian film star Geoffrey Rush said childhood memories of his hometown are sweetly dominated by images of gorgeous gardens, lots of trees and beautiful parklands.
“Recent visits confirm that this ecological spirit is an unshakeable part of the community’s quiet unselfconscious, uncompromising sense of itself,” he said. “Congratulations Toowoomba on winning the Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Towns Award.”
Other 2008 Australian Tidy Towns award winners are:
- Community Action Award – Moe, Vic
- Heritage and Culture – Ross, Tas
- Litter Prevention – Nauiyu Nambiyu (Daly River), NT
- Resource Recovery – Mount Gambier, SA
- Community Partnership – Mount Gambier, SA
- Protection of the Environment – Walpole, WA
- Young Legends – Dorrigo, NSW
- Dame Phyllis Frost Group – Nauiyu Nambiyu, NT
- Dame Phyllis Frost Individual – Michael Filby, Walpole, WA
Further information and project details can be found at www.keepaustraliabeautiful.org.au
