Darling Downs: black soil and rolling grass seas

Article


French, Maurice. 2011. "Darling Downs: black soil and rolling grass seas ." Queensland Historical Atlas. 2011, pp. 1-7.
Article Title

Darling Downs: black soil and rolling grass seas

ERA Journal ID122851
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorFrench, Maurice
EditorsSpearritt, Peter and Stell, Marion
Journal TitleQueensland Historical Atlas
Journal Citation2011, pp. 1-7
Number of Pages7
Year2011
Place of PublicationBrisbane, Australia
ISSN1838-708X
Web Address (URL)http://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/darling-downs
Abstract

The quintessential Darling Downs landscape of the nineteenth century was characterised by black soil and 'rolling grass seas' which held the sheep, woolsheds and large pastoral stations of wealthy squatters. One of Queensland's most productive pastoral areas, it became celebrated in both art and literature.

The Darling Downs is complex and difficult to define and locate on a map, being between 130-250 km west of Brisbane. Ranging from 500 m to 650 m above sea level, it is a distinctive cool region of Queensland bounded in the north by the Bunya Mountains, in the east by the Great Dividing Range, in the south by the Granite Belt and Herries Range, and on the west by the Condamine River.

Keywordssquatters; pastoralists; farming; sheep production; wool production; Wacca Wacca; agriculture
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020450107. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history
430302. Australian history
440699. Human geography not elsewhere classified
Public Notes

From the QHA website: 'The Queensland Museum retains ownership of all material on this site unless otherwise specifically stated. Permission is granted to copy material owned by the Queensland Museum under the terms of the Copyright Act 1968 (as amended) and in accordance with fair dealing provisions; provided that the content is not altered and the source is acknowledged.'

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Humanities and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Book TitleQueensland historical atlas: histories, cultures, landscapes
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