Dalby is one of the few regional towns that is bucking the trend of becoming a forgotten ghost town...

I know you city people probably don't think much of these little projects, but having lived in a string of small towns (longreach and mackay being the two main ones b4 i moved to toowoomba), I know what a huge impact even just one of these projects would have on a town the size of dalby (roughly 15000 when including some little satelite suburbs), so to have all these projects go ahead at the moment is absolutely a huge accomplishment for dalby.

Here are some recent developments the town has recently undergone - >

- The Dog Bowl, 12 Lane Ten Pin Bowling Facility
- McDonalds McCafe
- Wagners Concrete Plant
- Commonwealth Bank relocation
- Home Hardware Warehouse
- Russell Tavern
- Gymnasium, PCYC
- Pilot Desalination Plant
- Dalby Wambo Aerodrome upgrade
- Beautification of main street

Developments in Progress - >

- Hemp Processing Mill
- Kogan Creek Coal Mine and Power Station
- $3.3m Medical Centre - Goondir Health Services
- Dalby Events Centre
- Southern Bunyas Project
- Catholic Retirement Village
- New 80 bed Karingal Aged Care Facility
- Mini Steam Train Track, Jandowae
- Residential subdivision
- Gallery Motor Inn refurbishment
- Christian School extensions
- Tearoom, Jandowae
- Restoration of Dingo Barrier Fence
- Birding Trails - Wambo Shire
- Heritage listing of Jimbour Stone Wall

Proposed Developments - >

- Aquatic Centre with indoor heated pool and water slides
- Combined sporting complex
- Shopping Centre
- Civic Auditorium
- Dalby Bore Baths - mineral springs
- Discovery Centre, Jandowae - Science Centre
- Dingo Park, Jandowae
- Ethanol Plant
- 52,000 head feedlot
- Abattoir
- $350m Rail Link - Tarong Power Station to Chinchilla (seperate from the Australian Inland Rail Corridor Project)

Here is a picture of the CBD of Dalby - >

http://www.dalby.qld.gov.au/images/CBD.jpg

Picture of where it is in queensland (for those of you who have no idea what lies west of ipswich!!) - >

http://www.dalby.qld.gov.au/images/map_qld.jpg

Dalby also won the tidiest town in australia for 2002

Restoration of dingo fence needs its own thread I think :)

Seriously though: go Dalby. And its good to hear some of the inland medium towns doing well. Evidently Mt Isa has also been doing very well last 18 months on the back of some major mining projects.

I think they are pretty serious about a rail link from Dalby with Gladstone to boost coal mining in the area? There are some significant coal deposits out that way.

hehe sorry jellyman, i know dalby isnt that exciting, but just a little bit of a different read instead of reading the same old crap about yet another 20 story resi for the gold coast... (as much as i love them tehehe)

I agree

has anyone been to the bunya mountains about 1/2 hour north or dalby? very inpressive rainforest with giant hoop pines and waterfalls galour... you can also see some of those chimney stacks that cul loves so much from the lookout on top of the mountain - dont know where they are exactly but they're huge.

Dalbys 4DDD Radio Mast is one of tallest structures in Australia and was just last week surpassed as states 4th tallest structure. At 219m high, only Riparians mast (250m)and Mt isa stack (274m) & callide stack (230m) are higher.
Has anyone seen the Dalby mast?
So how far is dalby from Toowoomba? 100km?
Danubis- i think the stacks you can see might be the Tarong power station. there 210m tall.
heres one>
http://img256.echo.cx/img256/2037/tarongnorthstack2zn.jpg

no, thats not the one, the ones you can see look like the ones from the simpsons... they're a bit fatter at the bottom lol

oh, sorry, you're probably right... i found a pic i took from the lookout on top of bunya mountains when i went -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/danubiis/bunya14.jpg

I think Dalby is about 80 km from Toowoomba. I have seen the Dalby Radio Tower, and remember it fondly - My Sister and I used to look out for it when we were on our way out there to visit our grandad and our aunties, uncles, cousins, etc - it was a great game in the old kingswood - It was a very tall tower if I recollect correctly - It was visible from most parts of the town; I remember seeing from the front steps of my grandad's home when I was very young - and I think you could see it first from about 25-30k out of Dalby - at the same time we were trying to see the TV towers on the Bunya mountains, but the Dalby Radio Mast was always pretty impressive.

Dalby is really going ahead with the Dalby Bio Refiniery (Aus' first large scale ethanol plant), Dalby Arrow Methane Fields, Dalby Energex Power Station, Braemar Power Project etc.

Dalby Central Shoppingworld is well on the way to completion, and when completed it will contain Big W, Woolworths (already existing), Woolworths plus petrol plus another 45 specialty shops. its also including 500 carparks, 400 of which are underground. the center expansion has moved its capacity from the original 3,824m2 to 12,307m2. It will be the biggest shopping complex in Dalby District, and one of the biggest in the darling downs region (Biggest outside Toowoomba).

The Dalby Aquatic center development is near commencement, which will include a heated 50 meter lap pool, heated wading pool, 50 meter recreational pool with waterslides, hydrotherapy area, gym. It is believed that the position of this Aquatic center is going to be at the Dalby PCYC in North Dalby, but it is also being argued that southern Dalby (dog bowl area) should get it. Despite the oncoming development of the center, the already existing Dalby Pool Complex will remain, but mainly for swimming meets, and school carnivals, as it has a large grandstand.

Welcome to SSC DalbyCity. It's great to have a Dalby representive on board. I know Danubis will be pleased. Good to see so much progress in Dalby when a lot of rural towns seem to be languishing. I didn't know Dalby was that big - 15,000 'metro' population! I want to see the apartment boom extending to Dalby sometime very soon :)

Anyway hope you stick around and keep us up to date with developments out that way. Cheers.

Trivia item: Number of tonnes on the railway out west towards Toowoomba overtook number of tonnes north through Nambour as of six months ago. Mainly due to coal mining out near Dalby. Unfortunately they need to either significantly upgrade rail through Toowoomba to Port of Brisbane, or link that area of QLD with Gladstone before the coal mining can expand much further.

Welcome to SSC DalbyCity. It's great to have a Dalby representive on board. I know Danubis will be pleased. Good to see so much progress in Dalby when a lot of rural towns seem to be languishing. I didn't know Dalby was that big - 15,000 'metro' population! I want to see the apartment boom extending to Dalby sometime very soon :)

Anyway hope you stick around and keep us up to date with developments out that way. Cheers.

;) thanks alot oriolus. i do intend to stick around on skyscraper city and i will let you guys know on any more interesting developments.

does anyone know what population must be reached for a town to be proclaimed a city? or is it still based on whether you have a cathedral or not?

does anyone know what population must be reached for a town to be proclaimed a city? or is it still based on whether you have a cathedral or not?

Yes, i am very interested in that. Euro standards proclaim a city as 50,000 plus, however US and Australia have far lower standards i believe. Warwick, in the southern darling downs state that they are a city, with a population of 12,000-ish despite the fact they don't actually have a municipal government, and are governed by a shire government. Dalby does have a couple of cathederal-esque churches, but then again, what constitues a cathederal?! It's very confusing. Surely that should constitute Dalby as a city, but the world works in misterious ways...

http://img256.echo.cx/img256/2037/tarongnorthstack2zn.jpg
WOW! thats bloody tall!

any chance for some recent pics of of the town dalbycity? they're quite hard to come by in the general searches... :(

hey again,

yeah danubis, when i get back on friday i will grabs some pics for you.

soulvision, your pic doesnt work, care to repost it?

thanks

How many shops & services are at Dalby Central Shopping Centre?