Toowoomba first settled in 1816, when English botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham arrived in Australia from Brazil and in June 1827 discovered 4 million acres of rich farming and grazing land. It became known as the Darling Downs, bordered on the east by the Great Dividing Range and situated 160 km west of the settlement of Moreton Bay. Thirteen years later when George and Patrick Leslie established Toolburra Station south – West of Toowoomba, the first settlers arrived on the Downs. Then established a township of bark-slab shops called The Springs which was soon renamed Drayton.
