Welcome from vice-chancellor of USQ, Professor Geraldine Mackenzie

SPRING is in full bloom and where better to celebrate this beautiful change of season than Queensland’s Garden City.

Famous for its warm summers and crisp winters, Toowoomba is a vibrant city, and the grass is always greener during the Carnival of Flowers.

Attracting hundreds of thousands of people and injecting millions into the local economy, the Carnival is a time of celebration and joy.

With much of the state suffering through drought, local green thumbs have persevered, working harder than ever throughout the year to transform our beautiful parks and private gardens into stunning floral showpieces.

The colours and crowds delight our visual senses, adding to one of Australia’s premier events on the gardening calendar.

From the Japanese Garden to the Indigenous Gumbi Gumbi Garden at the University of Southern Queensland, the Carnival of Flowers transports visitors around the world — without ever leaving the Garden City.

Now in its 69th year, the Carnival of Flowers is bigger and more beautiful than ever, and with community support, I believe it will only continue to flourish.

USQ is immensely proud to be a major sponsor of the Carnival of Flowers.

On behalf of all at Queensland’s number one university for graduate employability, we welcome you.