Toowoomba Boer War Gates

About

The gates and adjacent wall were built from bricks hand made in Queens Park 1862-1864 to build the walls of the Toowoomba gaol. In 1904 the goal was closed and a part of the space roofed over to become the Austral Memorial Hall, dedicated as a Boer War memorial. When this was demolished about 1917 only a fragment of the walls remained, and bricks from this were recovered and re-erected in 1985. A poem written in 1900 by Banjo Paterson honouring Soldiers of the Queen, men of the Queensland Mounted Infantry, is inscribed on the left gate, complete with etched slouch hat with emu plume. Details are located on the right gate. On the back of the walls on either side of the entrance are plaques honouring WAAF, WRAN, Women's Services, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam and Milne Bay participants. A plaque near the western end of the wall marks the commencement of a WAAAF tree lined walkway through East Creek Park, completed late 1993. Additional Information Entrance to the Mothers' Memorial Rose Gardens and memorial is through the Boer War Gates from Margaret Street.