15 stories Toowoomba lapped up throughout 2018
THE modern-day fast-paced life can make it hard to keep up with everything happening around us.
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THE modern-day fast-paced life can make it hard to keep up with everything happening around us.
And in a big year of news, it can be even harder to remember all those stories that had us reading throughout 2018.
But the team at The Chronicle online has crunched the numbers and compiled a list of the biggest stories Toowoomba readers were interested in.
Here's a quick look back at the big year that was in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.
TOOWOOMBA celebrated with many cheers news The Bavarian was opening in town.
The 300-seat family-friendly casual dining restaurant in Grand Central teased residents back in February ahead of its opening in June.
Parent company Rockpool Dining Group CEO Thomas Pash at the time said he was excited to bring the brand to the Garden City - and Toowoomba has eaten up the experience ever since.
2. Scam watch
ATTEMPTS at scamming residents out of their hard-earned was a big topic of the year, with people's warnings being shared far and wide.
When Maria Dugandzic shared a screenshot of a text message claiming she had an inheritance waiting for her, it went viral on The Chronicle's website.
The message was shared to warn others not to follow the instructions in the text - including to email for more details.
3. Australia's largest family's shopping bill
WHEN Australia's largest family shared how much they spend on groceries, Toowoomba - and the country - read with interest.
With 18 members, Toowoomba's Bonell family documented their "stock-up" shop at a local Coles in a Youtube video that racked up the views as the story grew.
The $875, three-trolley shop restocked the pantry and freezer, with eight boxes of sausages, eight boxes of chicken breast, and three packs of six lamb chops.
TOOWOOMBA'S chocolate lovers mourned when it was revealed the city's Max Brenner store would close as the company was placed into voluntary administration.
After all, this was the city that campaigned and made a hero out of a chocolate fanatic who helped convince the chain to open a Garden City outlet.
But by October, the store was swept up in the administrator's process of closing stores.
There has been some signs of new life for the chain, however, with some outlets to reopen.
5. Best country town in Queensland
JUST a relatively short drive down the highway, close to the NSW border, is the town named the best in Queensland.
Perhaps it was envy that kept people reading, but it was certainly curiosity of what Goondiwindi offered that had people talking.
Goondiwindi was found to out-perform all other Queensland country towns thanks to its surprise package of above-average income, demographic diversity, low unemployment, a cohesive community and well-performing public services, according to The Australian newspaper.
The town's economic diversity was another strong factor in its selection, and its profitable local industries.
THE Little Urban Café at Kingsthorpe saga had more instalments than chapters in a Harry Potter novel, or so it seemed.
After announcing its closure, then its reopening, the Darling Downs café did another backflip and announced it was… closed again.
A reported issue between the business owners and its real estate agency is believed to be behind the open again, closed again saga.
COUNTRY music superstar was the headliner at the hugely successful It's a Bloke Thing fundraising lunch.
The celebrity's involvement with the annual event was the subject of exciting speculation, with just a teaser that the special guest had a personal history with prostate cancer awareness which the fundraiser supports.
The September event at Wellcamp Airport smashed its fundraising target, raking in $2,024,000.
DRY conditions and drought plagued the region's farmers and it became a national talking point.
So in mid-September, a group of key Muslim groups rallied and donated 33 tonnes in hay bales to farmers battling to feed stock.
The Brisbane-based Muslim Charitable Foundation partnered with Muslim Aid Australian and other groups to truck 132 hay bales on from Gatton to Goondiwindi.
WHEN a loaded cattle truck rolled at the top of the Toowoomba Range in mid-August, several had to be euthanased on site, some escaped and the survivors were trucked out.
But the bovine death toll struck a chord with the city's animal rights activists, with Vegans in Toowoomba group co-founder Mo Orr moving to establish a memorial to the cattle.
"It's important (to set up the memorial) as nobody has seen these animals, they're invisible," she said at the time.
TOOWOOMBA got a taste of a European winter in June when the Civic Precinct was transformed into a magical wonderland.
Skating At, a national pop-up ice-skating festival, skated into the Garden City with an ice-skating rink during the coldest days of winter.
It was a raging success with thousands taking to the ice from the end of June to July 15.
Get ready for a lunar trifecta on Jan. 31
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) January 18, 2018
1⃣ The Moon will be full, near its closest point to Earth
2⃣ A lunar eclipse will be visible in parts of North America, Asia, & Oceania
3⃣ It will be the 2nd full Moon this month
A super blue blood Moon! https://t.co/A1aH2Ze5qa pic.twitter.com/BD9jLXi9DN
WHEN the rare Super Blue Blood Moon lit up our skies in January, the city's amateur astronomers sought out the best location to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.
University of Southern Queensland's Jake Clarke gave the best tip - somewhere out of town where suburban lights didn't pollute the skyline.
Residents lapped up the advice and seized their chance to see the sight.
SINCE IGA closed in August 2016, retailers at the troubled Bridge St Plaza have struggled to remain viable.
The grocery store anchored the centre with hopes it would re-open, but when it went into liquidation, surrounding retailers vowed to remain open and viable.
Traders have had to wind back trading hours, cut staff and services, pinning hopes on major retailer ALDI moving into the centre.
A plea back in February highlighted the retailers' troubles, reminding shoppers they remained open, with optimism building the supermarket giant ALDI will progress plans to open in 2019.
EVERY resident's fingers were crossed the mystery lotto winner who bought a ticket from Wilsonton was them in October.
Golden Casket officials went public with an appeal to find the mystery millionaire who bought the lucky ticket with a registered Winners Circle card, but hadn't picked up their phone.
And with $2.32 million on offer, readers undoubtedly went scrambling for their phones and into their nearest newsagency.
The winning ticket was sold from the Wilsonton Newsagency.
14. Bar closures
THE sudden and unexpected closure of two CBD bars in June soon after major renovations piqued curiosity in Toowoomba.
The Office and The Chelsea Bar shut down with little more than a message on Facebook from owners thanking customers for their patronage, but teasing there were "exciting things to come".
That was soon realised with The Florence, the newly made-over bar and the re-opening of The Chelsea Bar in mid-July.
ANCIENT volcanic lava flows discovered in the Lockyer Valley were announced in February, blowing out the completion of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing by more than seven months.
Ground movement monitoring on part of the bypass build discovered the effects of the lava flows and pre-Jurassic sedimentation formations that experts dated back to between 25 million and 200 million years ago.
Nexus Infrastructure CEO John Hagan in February said additional excavation was needed in the small section of the project after ground movement was identified in the geological layers below an embankment at Ballard.
Originally published as 15 stories Toowoomba lapped up throughout 2018
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