Roma

Urban

Only 350 kilometres north-west of Toowoomba, Roma Outback Queensland is home to the southern hemisphere’s largest sale yards. Visitors can get a feel for the outback by perching on a fence or taking a coveted possie on the viewing platform to watch the action at Roma Saleyards. Be sure to time your visit for a Tuesday or Thursday and you can witness the sale of up to 12,000 head of cattle in a single day.

To get a real feel for the town itself, take a walk along the heritage-listed Heroes’ Avenue, which is planted with more than 100 bottle trees. Each tree is a memorial to a local soldier who lost their life in WW1. For a dose of history, head to the Mount Abundance Homestead, built in 1860, which is the site of the region’s first settlement. The homestead has important links to early explorers Sir Thomas Mitchell and Ludwig Leichhardt.

Don’t miss the Big Rig Oil and Gas Interpretative Centre and Night Show for an interactive insight into the hardships and heroic stories of oil drilling and exploration. Visit the ‘Oil Patch’ to get up close to impressive rigs and one of the first diesel powered rigs ever used in Australia.

There’s a varied calendar of events from Picnic Races, the Roma Cup and Easter in the Country to the multicultural Santos Food and Fire Festival and all the fun of the Roma Show.