Dalby, Queensland

Dalby is a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately 210 km west of the state capital, Brisbane, at the junction of the Warrego, Moonie and Bunya Highways. Dalby is the administrative centre of the Western Downs Region and the centre of Australia's richest grain and cotton growing area. At the 2006 census, Dalby had a population of 9,778.

The name of the town is believed to come from the village of Dalby on the Isle of Man and reflects immigration from the Isle of Man in the mid nineteenth century. The name was apparently chosen by Captain Samuel Perry when he surveyed the settlement in 1853.

Dalby was linked by rail to Ipswich on 20 April 1868.

History
Dalby was founded in the early 1840s at a place known locally as "The Crossing" on Myall Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River. The first settler was Henry Dennis, who explored the region and chose land for himself and others in the locality. Today an obelisk in Edward Street denotes the location where Dennis camped. A small settlement was founded to assist travellers heading north to nearby Jimbour Station. The explorer Ludwig Leichhardt visited the area in 1844, on his way to Port Essington.

In February 1853, the New South Wales government sent the Deputy Surveyor General Captain Samuel Perry to the area to survey a township. In August of the following year, Mr Charles Douglas Eastaughffe arrived with a document under the Seal of the NSW Government officially proclaiming 'Dalby' a township. Mr Eastaughffe was later appointed Chief Constable and remained in Dalby until his retirement. The first Post Office also opened in 1854 in Roche's store, with Mr Simpson as the first Postmaster.

In 1859, Dalby was made part of the new state of Queensland. In August 1863 Dalby was officially proclaimed a municipality in the Government Gazette, and was invested with all the trappings of the Westminster System.

From 1873 to 1949 the electoral district of Dalby was an electoral district of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Industry
Industry in Dalby includes large-scale engineering, coal mining, and fuels (ethanol). Dalby is the centre of a diverse and productive agricultural area with rich black soil allowing the production of crops such as wheat, cotton and sorghum. Livestock raising including pigs, cattle and sheep is also popular. Two cotton gins are situated within 10 km of the town.

Dalby is to be the site of the first dry mill grain-to-ethanol plant constructed in Australia (the first plant built specifically for the production of ethanol for fuel since the Second World War).

Power
The local area is developing an energy-based economy with a large coal-fired power station and a number of coal mines and natural gas bores being established to the west of Dalby. A local company has been awarded a contract to establish wind turbines on adjacent farm land.

Approximately 50 km west of Dalby is the Kogan Creek Power Station. This A$1.2 billion project is a 750-megawatt coal-fired power station, with adjacent coal mine being developed at the small town of Kogan, which is roughly equidistant between Dalby, Chinchilla, and Tara.

Development
The recent opening of a shopping centre at the northern end of Cunningham Street has brought new life to the Dalby CBD. Dalby Shoppingworld includes Woolworths, Big W, Amcal and other specialty shops.

Dalby's Water Treatment Plant uses a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis process, and will soon have a second RO plant to cater for the town's increasing needs. The town has made a ground-breaking deal with nearby gas companies by taking water from gas fields. It has been noted that the town will have a definite water supply for at least another 30 years, taking into account demographic trends.

Dalby's population has been increasing rapidly recently with many new estates created and subdivisions made. Some notable new estates include Sunnyside Estate, Heritage Gardens, Callistemon Park and a new estate on the Warrego Highway side of Sandalwood Avenue.

Notable residents of Dalby

 * B.R. Dionysius (Poet)
 * David Gleeson (golfer)
 * Andrew McCullough (Rugby League player)
 * Andrew McGahan (Author)
 * Steve Price (Rugby League player)
 * Carl Webb (Rugby League player)

Monument to Cactoblastis
Dalby has a monument to the Cactoblastis cactorum in a park by the Myall Creek which runs through the town. The Argentinian caterpillar successfully eradicated the prickly pear in the 1920s.

Education
The schools in Dalby include, Dalby State School, Dalby South State School, Dalby Christian School, Dalby State High School, Our Lady of the Southern Cross College.

Local media
There are two locally published newspapers including the Dalby Herald and Northern Downs News, as well as the Dalby Magazine.