Roma

The city of Roma is located at the western end of the Darling Downs and is the major service center for that region. It is approximately 480 km to the west of Brisbane and is a thriving community of around 7000 people. Roma is the place where oil and gas were first discovered in Australia and is now the home of the oil and gas museum. Roma's cattle sales are the largest in Australia and the region is the center of a massive agricultural area. The Roma winery is also worth a visit. It was established in 1863 and is now the oldest winery in Queensland. Roma is also home to over 100 bottle trees that grow within the city precinct. Each one represents the life of a local soldier killed during the first world war.

The Roma region was first explored by Europeans in 1846 when Sir Thomas Mitchell, who was the surveyor-general passed through the area looking for a route from Sydney to Australia’s north coast. He reached and named Mount Abundance after being impressed with the quality of the land that he was passing through. Today, the information center is worth visiting and it is located in the Big Rig complex which is a $7 million memorial to the pioneers of the oil and gas industry in the region.

The Roma region is steeped in Australia’s early history and today represents one of the country’s wealthiest agricultural regions. It is a region that everyone should visit when passing through this part of the country.