Rock-solid pledges on gardens

$250k Quarry Gardens feasibility study is a sure thing

AFTER more than a decade of steadily chipping away at politicians and residents alike, Quarry Gardens advocate Colin Fitzgerald feels like he’s finally getting somewhere.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has pledged $250,000 for a feasibility study into the Quarry Gardens project, after the proposal was raised with her over the weekend when she opened the 68th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.

The Premier’s pledge was backed up by a commitment from Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts that a future LNP Government would also put $250,000 towards a business case.

Mr Fitzgerald, who has been “banging on about (the gardens)” to anyone who will listen for the last 11 years, said the project would “define Toowoomba”.

He was taken with the idea of the project when he first walked around the disused Bridge Street quarry all those years ago.

“Anyone who walks around it would be very impressed... imagine it as a sight, the great wall of the quarry, overlooking the escarpment, it would be fantastic,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“I think we’ll need a bit more money than $250,000 to actually get it going, but we need to do a study - have a proper look at it - it’s really good news.

“We are the Garden City and we don’t want to lose that brand... the Carnival of Flowers happens once a year. This would be a year-round attraction.

“We could build a huge garden there for all seasons and attract international visitors - it would become an international destination.”

Mr Fitzgerald said he had circulated a petition in support of the project during Carnival of Flowers, which has so far received more than 1,000 signatures.

The Quarry Gardens proposal has been around for nearly 15 years, but was shelved shortly after conception due to drought and water restrictions placed on the city.

But water is no longer an obstacle, with Toowoomba now supplied by a pipeline connecting Wivenhoe and Cressbrook dams.

The Premier said the proposal was modelled on the Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island in Canada, built on a former limestone quarry.

The Butchart Gardens attract an estimated one million visitors each year and support more than 500 jobs in peak season.

The State Government will immediately begin working with Toowoomba Regional Council on the study.