Toowoomba lies in the south eastern of Queensland, Australia, on the Great Dividing Range. The principal inland city in the state, Toowoomba is a rail and road junction, tourist resort, service centre for Darling Downs a livestock, grain, and dairying region of about 1,400,000 hectares, and site of the Perseverence Creek Water Supply Scheme.

Toowoomba was founded as a village in 1849, it became a town in 1858, a municipality in 1860, and a city in 1904. The population in the year of 1986 was 71,362.

It was originally called The Swamps. Its present name was probably derived from the Aboriginal toowoom, the name for a native melon. The city is well planned, with many parks, and has become an educational centre.

The town's industries today include engineering works, railroad shops, and food processing.