Council opens Queens Park feature near historical site

THE Toowoomba Regional Council has completed work on a new interpretive shelter in Queens Park.

Toowoomba Regional Council's Cr Tim McMahon says the new Queens Park interpretive shelter honours the old convervatory, which stood nearby until the 1950s.

THE Toowoomba Regional Council has completed work on a new interpretive shelter in Queens Park.

The new structure is adjacent to the site of the historic Queens Park Conservatory, which stood from 1909 to the late 1950s.

TRC environment and community portfolio leader Cr Tim McMahon said the shelter honoured an earlier structure that helped form Toowoomba's Garden City reputation.

"The new interpretive shelter is a lightweight structure that functions as a visitor information guide and shade structure," Cr McMahon said.

"The design incorporates the form of the former conservatory in a new framework.

"The inspiration for the design was to 'honour' the demolished building.

"The walls inside the shelter feature interpretive panels with photographs and text detailing the history of Queens Park."

Cr McMahon said the site of the old "hothouse" was excavated by members of a University of Southern Queensland archaeological dig after the discovery of the outline and remnants of the earlier structure. Students investigated and located the footings of the former glasshouse.

"Queens Park attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year for community celebrations, sporting activities and family outings," he said.

"The park has a long and proud history, and council has carried out extensive planning to preserve the park's distinctive cultural heritage values.

"The Interpretive Shelter is the latest in ongoing improvements outlined in council's Queens Park Master Plan Implementation Project.

"The Master Plan is designed to enhance public facilities while maintaining the unique features of the city's premier park."

The Botanic Gardens interpretive shelter forms part of the Queens Park Stage Six projects, which are jointly funded by the Queensland Government's Building our Regions program and the council.

State Development Minister Kate Jones said the government was proud to be partnering with councils and the private sector to deliver projects that create jobs.

"We are facing one of the most difficult times in our state's history. But we know that to fast-track Queensland's economic recovery, we need to invest in job-creating projects in regional Queensland," she said.

"This program will not only create hundreds of construction jobs across the regions, it will create more employment opportunities for locals, helping small businesses in these communities and boosting industry supply chains."

BoR Round 5 focuses on construction and planning projects that will create and sustain long-term employment in regional Queensland.

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