Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Lockyer Valley QLD

Lockyer Valley

Postcode: 4344

The Lockyer Valley is area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world. The intensively cultivated area grows the most diverse range of commercial fruit and vegetables of any area in Australia and is often referred to as “South East Queensland’s Salad Bowl”.

The valley is experiencing increasing urbanisation at both its eastern and western extremities. As commuters move into the area, its towns are becoming dormitory suburbs and satellite towns of the Brisbane-Ipswich conurbation in the east and Toowoomba in the west. Urban planning measures have been implemented to preserve the good quality agricultural land and rural feel of the valley. Such measures largely confine future development to non-arable land on the slopes of the hills.

The valley is enclosed on either side by the northern parts of the Scenic Rim of Great Dividing Range and covers Gatton Shire and Laidley Shire as well as some parts of the Shire of Esk. The largest town in the Lockyer Valley is Gatton. Other centres include Rosewood, Laidley, Forest Hill, Grandchester, Grantham, Helidon and Withcott and Prenzlau.