THE DARLING DOWNS
When I was a child I was taught that the Darling Downs possessed one of the best areas of agricultural soil of the world – the black color indicating the wealth of humus. But what is the Darling Downs? It is a region of country west of the Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia in south-eastern Queensland. Toowoomba, at the crest of the Great Dividing Range, is the city gateway to the west. This city has become notable not only for it annual floral ‘Carnival of Flowers’, but as a city of boarding schools plus a University to serve students from the south western portion of the State. It is also a haven where the elderly retire because of large hospitals, other medical facilities and a cool mountain climate. Warwick is a smaller city at the southern end of the Darling Downs. Dalby is at the northern extremity and by the time you have reached Roma in the west you have left the Darling Downs and entered the grazing country of the Maranoa.
In my youth I lived north of Dalby near the Bunya Mountains and attended boarding school in Warwick - another city of private schools which provide high school education for children from more isolated regions. When I married Stewart McIver I lived on farms at Bell prior to moving into Dalby. When that marriage ended I moved to Toowoomba where I met and married Eberhard Helwig and we later moved to Stanthorpe in the border highlands south of Warwick.
Map of the Darling Downs
Last weekend we left home on the Friday morning and drove via Warwick and Toowoomba to reach Dalby 3 hours later where I spent the afternoon signing books at the Dalby BOOK CITY store. The next day we caught up with family and friends at Bell where my 94 year old father was the guest of honour at a Campdraft. Sunday we spent another 3 hours driving home on the western route through Millmerran to Inglewood before turning east to our home just south of Stanthorpe. I sketched this map so you could follow our travels.
Darling Downs roads
The most notable aspect of the Darling Downs between Toowoomba, Dalby and Millmerran is this area has always been tree less plains with heavy black soil. It is called self-mulching soil as it cracks wide open and crumbles in on itself when dry. Then when wet it swells and becomes as sticky as clay. Because of the depth of such shifting soil it is difficult to establish a solid foundation and it has been customary for houses to be built of timber on stumps above the ground, where the wooden floors can be raised and lowered a little if windows or doors jam tight.
When I visited my daughter Debra on the Nerrewin farm near Dalby in May I photographed these long tubes of grain sorghum. Instead of building tall permanent silos, the farmers now use these inflatable tubes into which they blow grain for storage. If the price is poor or they can’t obtain transport for their grain it can be stored temporarily in this manner.
Dalby grain
Debra’s blue cattle dog, Bonnie, was playing chase with my puppy, Trixie.
Between Dalby and Millmerran on our return drive last weekend I saw many more such tubes filled with stored grain.
Fallow land
In the far distance of the photos above and below you can see the long white tubes of stored grain. There are no fences dividing the farms as this is agricultural country without roaming livestock. The farmers keep the grass along the road verges mowed short to prevent the growth of weeds and seed blowing onto their land.
More fallow land
One of the significant ways in which farming on the downs has changed in recent years is that soil is seldom ploughed. Once a crop is harvested the farmer will leave the residue on the land to avoid soil erosion. He then uses a chemical herbicide to prevent weed growth and maintain moisture in the soil until it is time to establish the next crop. He then uses direct tilling to insert seed, water and nitrogenous gas into the earth at planting time. A cluster of trees indicates the position of a house. Most homes are surrounded in this manner with a buffer of trees as wind protection.
Wheat in stubble
After I alighted from our car to walk along this stretch of road to take photographs, a farm utility came from this house with a concerned farmer to inquire if our vehicle had broken down and if we needed any help? Such is the friendliness of country folk. Note the bright blue of our clear winter skies.
A crop of wheat
When I was a child the Darling Downs was known as the wheat bowl of Australia and recognized for the quality of its prime hard wheat, high in protein. Wheat is planted during the winter months and harvested in October/November. Trends have changed and now much of this region is planted with summer grains and wheat merely serves a place in crop rotation. By November the remaining fallow soil I’ve shown in these photographs will be planted with cotton or the summer grains of corn, sorghum and sunflowers.
Das Helwig Haus B&B owned by Eberhard and Fay Helwig is situated at Glen Aplin, near Stanthorpe on the Granite Belt of southern Queensland, Australia.
This is a region noted for summer stone-fruit, autumn apples, winter Christmas in July dinners and a spring Remembrance Field of red Flanders poppies.
Fay has published a book called Wildflowers, wilderness and wine. To obtain a copy directly email Fay on helwig@halenet.com.au
It is available on the Amazon.com website. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ACXQ0M/sr=8-1/qid=1244294755/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1244294755&sr=8-1&seller=
http://stores.lulu.com/strictlyliterary
http://books.google.co.uk/
