Publication
LET’S JOIN FORCES
Toowoomba has one chance to make its NRL dream a reality, and it rests in the hands of their fiercest rivals. As the Ipswich Jets’ Western Corridor NRL bid gains momentum, Western Clydesdales boss Alex Pagoni said his club needed to be open to any...
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HIT & RUN SEIZURE
Police have seized a vehicle that was believed to be involved in a historic hit and run which left a Toowoomba man with serious injuries. The incident happened on Bakers St in Darling Heights on January 24, 2021 when a driver of a Toyota LandCruiser...
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GARTH TAKES AIM
Groom MP Garth Hamilton has slammed One Nation’s support for Trump’s attack on Iran, saying the party has failed to put Australia first while offering no serious alternative policies.
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AWARD-WINNING FLAVOURS FOR MEATSTOCK
Darling Fresh Smoke Haus will bring their awardwinning biltong to Meatstock this weekend, as well as a new book and spicy jerk rub. Known for their woodsmoked meats, small-batch seasonings and smokeroasted sauces, they recently won a gold medal at the...
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CARJACK SPREE ENDS IN ARREST
The man suspected of stealing four vehicles in a major carjacking crime spree across the Darling Downs has been taken into custody at a Toowoomba shopping centre. Police confirmed a man was arrested at Eastville on Herries Street just before 1pm...
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HIGHWAY CARJACK TERROR
Police are searching for an armed man who stole three vehicles and fired a gun into the air during a terrifying Darling Downs carjacking spree. Officers were called to Princess Street, Newtown, about 3.20pm on Saturday following reports a man...
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CAMERAS HIDDEN IN HOSPITAL
Former health supervisor Stephen Ibell is alleged to have placed hidden cameras in Baillie Henderson Hospital to secretly film women’s genitalia, court documents reveal.
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OPEN FOR BUSINESS
As southwest Queensland prepares to welcome tens of thousands of people over the Easter weekend, tourism operators are urging visitors to stick to their plans amid Australia’s ongoing fuel crisis.
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NEW SCHOOL’S FIRST STUDENT
Ava Ramsey doesn’t know it yet, but the ground she planted a shovel into will become the school where she takes her first steps as a student just nine months from now. The excited 2027 prep student was on-hand with her parents Cameron and Dakota...
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GARDEN COMP IN FULL BLOOM
For 77 years, The Chronicle Garden Competition has elevated the Toowoomba region’s most vibrant private gardens to the wider community. In 2026, the competition returns to allow green thumbs of all experience levels to cultivate their yards with...
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COUNTRY CHARM AT CITY SHOW
Despite rising prices of fuel and cost of living pressures, the Toowoomba Royal Show put on an epic weekend as attendees from across the Darling Downs packed the showgrounds. The 161st People First Bank Royal Toowoomba Show had something for every...
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GAS BILL OUTRAGE IGNITES
Darling Downs farmers have accused the LNP of failing to keep their election promise, after the introduction of new legislation they claim will not protect prime agricultural land.
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OUR BEST ON SHOW
The Western Downs community is rallying around a young Dulacca woman after she underwent surgery following a rare bleeding brain cavernoma. Newly graduated 18-year-old Zoe York was celebrating her freedom and planning for her future as a veterinary...
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BERSERK BOWSER BEHAVIOUR
Australia’s ongoing fuel crisis is leading to panic-buying at Toowoomba bowsers, as concerns around national and state supplies persist amid conflict in the Middle East. Residents have been sighted stockpiling petrol and diesel across the Garden City,...
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THE KIDS STUCK IN LIMBO
Since he was little, Sarah’s* son jumped from school to school, with nowhere giving him the support he needed. It wasn’t until he moved to a school with specialised supports following an autism diagnosis at age 11, that Sarah saw his life change...
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A SHOW OF SUPPORT
Organisers have broken with 161 years of tradition by offering half-price tickets and free access for one night as cost-of-living pressures bite regional families. Royal Agriculture Society of Queensland chief executive Damon Phillips said families...
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FUTURE IS GREEN STEEL
Construction could start before the end of the year on a $450m green steel mill in Toowoomba’s western suburbs. GM Steel has secured all its approvals from both the Toowoomba Regional Council and the Queensland Government for its massive new electric...
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ACCUSED ARSONIST NAMED
Ash Livingstone, the 28-yearold Toowoomba man accused of burning down the Toowoomba PCYC building, has been remanded in custody. Police arrested Mr Livingstone on Thursday about 5am and charged him with one count each of arson, stealing, unlawfully...
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BURNT TO THE GROUND
Police are speaking with a 28year-old man apprehended at the scene of a fire that destroyed the Toowoomba PCYC. The blaze broke out in the early hours of Thursday, with eight crews on scene at 1.20am. Southern Region Acting Assistant Commissioner...
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FUEL’S GOLD
As fuel prices continue to hurt the wallets of many, an expert says there shouldn’t be further drastic increases at this stage. Both unleaded and diesel prices spiked after conflict broke out in the Middle East between Iran, the US and Israel which in...
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KEYS TO CITY FOR BURTON
Olympic equestrian champion Chris Burton will be awarded the keys to the city in recognition of his sporting achievements and advocacy for the region. Chris Burton represented Australia in equestrian at three Olympic Games, winning bronze at the 2016...
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EMBRACING OUR CITY’S COLOURS
Despite recent postponements due to weather, Holi Colourfest kicked off in Toowoomba as about 400 people enjoyed explosions of colour. Although the event has run for about nine years, the celebration held at the University of Southern Queensland’s...
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BABY’S FINGER SEVERED
State authorities are investigating the circumstances that ended in a baby’s finger being severed at a Lockyer Valley childcare centre. Education Queensland confirmed on Saturday it was aware of the incident, which is believed to have happened at the...
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PROBE INTO WHO FAILED GIRL
Emails outlining why hospital staff strongly opposed the release of diabetic girl Elizabeth Struhs to live with her mother were sent before Child Safety made the decision to discharge her home, a coroner has heard.
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ON THE PATH TO 2032
The Glennie School’s mission “To Be All She Can Be” will take on new meaning in the coming years as the private school prepares to lead Australia’s 2032 Olympic Games charge. One of Toowoomba and Queensland’s most prestigious private schools – Glennie...
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INSIDE COUNCIL’S MEGA-PROJECT
The Toowoomba Regional Council has embarked on a bid to secure $80 million in the federal budget for the safety upgrade of Cressbrook Dam.
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THERE FOR MY FAMILY AND MY COUNTRY
An Oakey soldier has commemorated International Women’s Day reflecting on balancing motherhood and family life with her service to her country. Joining the Australian Defence Force eight years ago, Trooper Justine Gatti, who works out of Oakey, serves...
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Jayden swims for sick kids after losing sight
As Jayden Wessling paddles through the water, he can only make out blurry outlines and contrasting colours. This February the 15-yearold Toowoomba teen swam for sick kids through the Starlight Foundation’s Superswim, but it wasn’t too long ago that...
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TOOWOOMBA TO THE STARS
After starring in productions of Phantom of the Opera, Singin’ in the Rain and Jagged Little Pill all across Australia, acclaimed actor Georgina Hopson has landed the role of her dreams. Hailing from Toowoomba, she’s now playing the main role of Anya...
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WOMEN WHO EMPOWER
“You can do whatever you want to do, it doesn’t mean you have to do it all.” Nine inspiring Toowoomba women have opened up about the lessons that have shaped them and their advice for the next generation to celebrate International Women’s Day on March...
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Tributes for 17yo Mackenzie
A devastated Lockyer Valley family is calling for community support as they face the unimaginable loss of their 17-yearold daughter who died in a head-on collision. Mackenzie Addison Tutt died after a multi-vehicle crash in Grandchester at 5.47pm on...
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AFL STAR’S SICKENING SEX ACT
Two footballers preyed on a 14-yearold girl at a birthday party, luring her away from the festivities to rape her in the dark, a court has heard.
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GOTTA CATCH ’EM ALL
The Toowoomba Cosplay Group hosted a celebration of all things Pokemon on Saturday to mark the 30th anniversary since the original games debuted in Japan. Nearly 200 people turned up to the Japanese Gardens for a fun-filled family day. From cosplay...
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SHENAE’S OFF TO SYDNEY
Former Oakey Bears junior and Western Clydesdales star Shenae Ciesiolka is looking for a new NRLW club. Ciesiolka has been granted an immediate release by the Brisbane Broncos – just months after featuring in the club’s NRLW premiership winning...
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RUNNING FOR CARDIAC HEALTH
John Howe was out running one day, and in hospital with a heart attack the next. Eleven years since he faced a near-death experience, Mr Howe showed why you should never give up as he crossed the finish line of the Peak2Park run at the...
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HOSPITAL HOUSING PRICE SURGE
The sale of a workingclass house for $1.07 million has raised alarm bells, as the new hospital transforms traditional battler suburbs into investor goldmines.
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MASSIVE CITYWIDE DRUG RAIDS
Police seized a rock of ice the size of a cricket ball among a haul of drugs during a seven-month investigation in Toowoomba. Led by the Toowoomba Criminal Investigation Branch, police raided 80 properties where they recovered about $120,000 in cash,...
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A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
Working mother Ashlee Mesken’s extreme lifestyle of three jobs, minimal sleep and multiple caffeine drinks led to a medical crisis that completely transformed her approach to life and charity work.
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BREAKING POINT
Michelle Jensen remembers a day she couldn’t face going home. She was left broken, exhausted, and empty after her disabled 10-year-old son received a devastating $50,000 cut to his NDIS funding. “They cut Hugh’s funds but that doesn’t mean the need’s...
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UNIT COULD BREAK RECORD
A luxurious and renovated Toowoomba penthouse could break its own city record for a unit selling price from just three years ago, after it was listed for an astonishing price by a noted businessman. Keith Beer, a developer and former local McDonald’s...
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SUNBURNT HOEDOWN
For one bride-to-be, the perfect hens party was a music festival in town featuring country stars from Australia and the US. Katlin Tilly attended the Sunburnt Country music festival at Queens Park on Saturday with 15 of her friends. “It was a blast,...
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POLICE CLEARED IN TRAGEDY
Toowoomba police have been cleared of wrongdoing in Steven Nixon-McKellar’s 2021 death in custody, with a coroner finding multiple complex factors caused his cardiac arrest.
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ALDEAN IS READY TO ROCK
National and international music royalty will land in Queens Park this weekend for an afternoon and evening of bootscootin’ tunes. Nashville legend Jason Aldean is set to headline Sunburnt Country in Frogs Hollow on Saturday, in an unforgettable night...
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TEACHERS UNDER ATTACK
Spat on, punched, kicked and even stabbed, a university professor has revealed the horrific violence Darling Downs teachers are exposed to every day in Australian classrooms, and why teachers are leaving the profession.
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SURVIVOR’S WARNING
Abandoned by a system meant to protect them, vulnerable children in residential care have fallen prey to men who inject them with drugs, and coerce them into crimes and sex acts – an inquiry into the Department of Child Safety has been told.
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VETERAN TAKES ON ALLEGED CAR THIEF
A veteran of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Scott May bears a large scar across his face, but it didn’t come from a bomb or bullet. Instead it was from an armed robbery a decade ago. Now he has again become an alleged victim of youth crime.
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HELPING REFUGEES BELONG
The memories of the lives they left behind are never far away, but for a group of young Toowoomba refugees and migrants, as soon as they step onto the hockey field they know this is where they belong.
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LABOUR FIRM COLLAPSE
A Queensland labour hire company providing Pacific Island workers to farms in the Lockyer Valley and Granite Belt has collapsed, owing more than $12 million in state and federal taxes.
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MATERNITY ACTION PLAN
Darling Downs Health chief executive Annette Scott (pictured) says she accepts and will implement all 14 of the recommendations of an independent workplace culture review into the Toowoomba Hospital’s maternity unit.
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TRIBUTES FOR TEEN
The Toowoomba Grammar School old boys are in mourning after recent graduate Oliver Donaldson died suddenly. His father, Adair Donaldson, took to social media to share the heartbreaking news of his son’s death. “There is no easy way to share tragic...
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INQUEST ON MASON TO REOPEN
The Coronial Inquest into the death of Toowoomba teenager Annette Mason is set to be reopened after new DNA evidence came to light. It is understood State Coroner Terry Ryan will recall two key witnesses, Michael Laine and Allan McQueen.
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NEW HOPE FOR SICK PUPS
Dogs with inoperable and incurable cancers might have a fighting chance as the University of Queensland Gatton launches the first formal trial of an immunotherapy drug that could cure advanced cancers. UQ Gatton researcher Professor Rachel Allavena...
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MATES OPEN UNIQUE PET STORE
The squawk of budgies, parrots and finches can be heard among the clatter and crash of Wylie Street mechanics toiling in their workshops now that Beyond Pets has opened its doors. Set in a revitalised machine shop, getting the store ready has been a...
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MY TRUE ABILITIES
Before the crash that left Luke O’Sullivan a quadriplegic, his life revolved around his physicality. As a fifth-generation cattle farmer, Luke’s earliest memories were riding horses, mustering, and playing rugby union during his time at St Joseph’s...
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NO DOUBT ON OUR OLYMPICS
The Toowoomba Showgrounds’ suitability as an Olympic venue for equestrian in 2032 has faced fresh scrutiny from the sport’s peak body as Toowoomba leaders have moved to reassure citizens over the city’s readiness for the world stage.
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GLAM AND GLAMOUR OF GREAT GATSBY
When she was little, Libby Munro read about the dancers at Moulin Rouge and watched actors transform into different characters on stage, and she wondered how they got there. As a girl born on a property west of Charleville, her life seemed a long way...
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HARD WORK SET ME STRAIGHT
Throughout the past few years, Kaci Wallace found himself running with the wrong crowd and got himself kicked out of school, but all it took was seven months to turn his life around. Last year the 16-year-old joined a program at Outback Instincts and...
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WE WANT ANSWERS
As women come forward with complaints about their treatment at Toowoomba Hospital’s maternity ward, the LNP has hit back at Shannon Fentiman for running a “disgusting scare campaign targeting vulnerable new mums”. But the fear was real for new mother...
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CELEBRATING RECONCILIATION AT CARNIVAL
The annual Warriors Reconciliation Carnival kicked off on Saturday to a crowd of thousands, overcoming early concerns of cancellation. Twenty-one men’s teams and four women’s teams from Queensland and northern NSW met at the Jack Martin Centre and...
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NEW HOPE: VISA FOR FAMILY
Friday could have been the Nangan-Yechoku family’s last day in Australia, but just hours before their visa was set to expire they were given a lifeline. The Toowoomba family and owners of Thai restaurant Kaia’s Kitchen have been fighting for permanent...
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DNA DEATH REPORT
A murder case previously stalled for close to four years has slowly moved forward following the release of an “extraordinary” DNA report. In Toowoomba Magistrates Court on January 29, defence solicitor Nathan Bouchier appeared for Simon Jones, who...
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KAIA’S DREAM TO STAY
Just days before their visas expire, the Toowoomba family behind Kaia’s Kitchen is hoping for an extension as the community and politicians support them.
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FIRST DAY OF ‘BIG’ SCHOOL
With summer holidays over, prep students across the city are heading to school for the first time, and as they begin their journeys, we asked them one special question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The Chronicle visited Toowoomba...
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BREAKING THE CYCLE
Tony Rehn’s passion for justice and equality has been recognised at Toowoomba’s Australia Day celebrations. The former police sergeant and long-term domestic violence survivor advocate was named Toowoomba’s Citizen of the Year. It was an honour drawn...
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OUR CITY’S HEROES
Seven Darling Downs residents have been recognised in the 2026 Australia Day honours. Meet our award winners. FLOYD CECIL LEEDIE – AM Goondir Health Services chief executive Floyd Cecil Leedie has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia...
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KEEP KAIA’S FAMILY HOME
Reyna Nangan and Karin Yechoku built their life and grew their family in Australia, but they lost a lot here too. The Nangan-Yechoku family, who owns Kaia’s Kitchen, a Toowoomba Thai restaurant, has been fighting for permanent residency in Australia...
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BUT THIS COUNTRY IS OUR HOME
Kaia Reyhan Yechoku knows no home outside of Toowoomba. She was born at the Toowoomba Hospital, she learnt to take her first steps in her family home in Glenvale, strolled into school for the first time at Rangeville State School, and had a restaurant...
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WE ARE PERFECT FOR AN NRL GAME
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has thrown his support behind a campaign to bring the NRL to regional Australia, saying communities like Toowoomba deserved to access the “greatest game of all” annually. Maguire, who has based his premiership-winning side...
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UNHEALTHY CEREALS FOR KIDS
Parents have been warned popular family cereals are often packed with more sugar than they realise, amid claims the wrong breakfast choice could affect their child’s metabolism for the entire day. While eggs, avocado on toast or oats with Greek...
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GIVING A START LIKE I HAD
Having fled Afghanistan for a new life in regional Queensland, Mariam and her mum Sita Nabizada are now using their own experiences to help Toowoomba’s newest refugees settle in, one backpack at a time. Ms Nabizada and her 17-year-old daughter are...
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