Toowoomba Regional Council launches Tobruk Memorial Dr lookout with stunning views

The Toowoomba Regional Council has launched a major element in its multimillion-dollar activation of the escarpment area.

A key element of the council’s plan to activate the Toowoomba escarpment has now been opened, with the community earning a first peek at the new Tobruk Memorial Drive lookout near Picnic Point.

The new landmark, part of the $7.4 million Toowoomba Escarpment Parks Upgrades project, was opened by Mayor Paul Antonio and Ugarapul descendant and elder Aunty Margaret McCarthy-Pegler at a special ceremony today.

Margaret McCarthy-Pegler and TRC mayor Paul Antonio open the Tobruk Memorial Drive lookout project.

The lookout will again offer incredible views of Tabletop Mountain and the Lockyer Valley, after the previous viewing deck was removed in 2016 due to safety concerns.

Cr Antonio said it would be the first of several major projects slated for the escarpment area and Picnic Point.

“We celebrate, not only the history of our community as we know it, but the indigenous history here as well,” he said.

“What it will mean is the potential we have to attract some of those 5.5 million people who will be living in southeast Queensland by 2041.

“When you look at some of the dreams that COMSEQ has around a 45-minute region and that connectivity, and we have an airport, we could be a major centre for tourism and a central point in attracting tourists here that will ultimately go west of here.”

Aunty Margaret said the Toowoomba escarpment was an important cultural area for the Yuggera-Ugarapul tribes, with it being used as a resting area.

“Along this land, they stopped and camped and here is where they lived for a while and then moved on,” she said.

Environment and community portfolio leader Cr Tim McMahon said he was excited by the opportunities the escarpment presented.