Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s commitment to tourism development of the region was shown recently with the opening of a new Council-managed Visitor Information Centre in the Plainland Travel Centre.
The Visitor Information Centre, which will be manned with a combination of paid Council staff and volunteers, houses a range of brochures and information on the attractions and events the Lockyer Valley has to offer. There will also be Lockyer Valley branded souvenirs available for sale in the centre.
The centre has already had 300 official visitors through in its first week-and-a-half of operation.
The VIC will be opened 7 days a week from 8am to 5pm

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KEEP Australia Beautiful has been encouraging people all around Australia to care for their local environment for over 30 years through award programs such as Tidy Towns. Last week the Lockyer Valley was in the spotlight when Lorraine See arrived to judge Queensland’s Tidiest Town. The Lockyer Valley Regional Council put together a special itinerary for the judge to showcase many of the Lockyer Valley’s attractions and initiatives. Lorraine toured a number of sites including, Gatton’s Recycling Facility, Lake Apex and the Trucking Memorial, Withcott Sports Centre and Withcott’s War Memorial. “Lorraine was very positive and enthusiastic and she was quite impressed with the level of community involvement in the Lockyer Valley”, Cr Janice Holstein said. Lorraine judged Gatton and Withcott against a wide range of criteria, including community beautification, presentation and pride, town spirit, cultural heritage preservation, protection of the environment and environmental innovation, litter and waste management, community and local government partnerships and youth initiatives.

Ergon Energy Tidy Towns is Keep Australia Beautiful's flagship program and has operated in Queensland since 1971, making it the longest running of Keep Australia Beautiful's competitions. It is the most broadly contested civic program in Queensland. Each year, hundreds of Queensland villages, towns and cities and thousands of volunteers participate in this popular, community-based environment competition. From the smallest and most remote communities of fewer than 10 people to the regional metropolises and their populations in the tens of thousands, Ergon Energy Tidy Towns brings communities together.

Volunteers of Lockyer Valley Regional Council along with the tourism officer and Cr Janice Holstein were busy at the recent Caravan & Camping Show at the RNA showgrounds in Brisbane promoting tourism in the Greater Brisbane Region. The Greater Brisbane Drive brochure is one of the most successful pieces of collateral in the market place and has been proudly produced by the Greater Brisbane group for the past seven years. 80,000 copies per year are printed and distributed through Visitor Information Centres, RACQs and at the Brisbane Caravan and Camping Show where the group exhibit annually to promote the Region.

“The message of ‘get out of town’ is one which appeals to the imagination of the public seeking ideas outside the metropolitan area for day trips and short break stays”, Cr Holstein said.

The brochure is concise and factual with a detailed road map to guide travellers through the regions of Greater Brisbane. The Caravan and Camping show attracts visitors of 70,000 – 80,000 each year and is one of the premier events for promoting tourism.

With plans well in place for a spectacular floral display at spring time at Spring Bluff Railway Station, Chairperson Cr Janice Holstein recently launched the new Spring Bluff brochure. “Historic Spring Bluff Railway Station is one of the highlights on the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers calendar with thousands of visitors being drawn to the picturesque gardens to take in a piece of railway history”, said Cr Holstein. A must do at Carnival time is to jump on the train to take the short but most enjoyable trip from Toowoomba down to the historic station & gardens with trains running twice daily during Carnival week.

“We are so thrilled to have made the list on RACQ’s 150 Must Do’s in Queensland and are extremely proud to have come in at number 28, it just shows how special Spring Bluff Railway Station really is to many Queenslanders”, said Cr Holstein.

The first Sunday of the Carnival sees ‘Big Band at the Bluff’ with the Jim Miller Big Band playing for the enjoyment of visitors adding to a memorable visit to Spring Bluff.

Members of the original 25th Battalion who left Spring Bluff on St Patrick’s Day in 1942 to fight the Japanese at Milne Bay met at the Spring Bluff Railway Station for the 67th Anniversary flag raising ceremony on Tuesday 17 March.

The 1000 strong Darling Downs 25" Infantry Battalion left Cabarlah Barracks at 2.00am in 1942 and marched down the steep range to the siding at Spring Bluff. There the soldiers boarded trains bound for the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds, Townsville and eventually Milne Bay at the eastern tip of New Guinea.

Each year on the anniversary of the soldiers' departure from Spring Bluff, members of the 25th Battalion gather at Spring Bluff Railway Station for a flag raising ceremony to remember the efforts of the 25th Battalion who left Spring Bluff Railway Station to fight in the 1942 Milne Bay and 1945 Bougainville conflicts where 200 of their colleagues did not return home.

Returned Serviceman Mr Bert Miles spoke at the ceremony about how he felt 67 years ago as a young lad very quickly becoming a man when he learned what real fear was, having to fight for his life.

A number of school students from Murphys Creek and Withcott State Schools joined the Spring Bluff Trust committee members to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with the 25th Battalion.