Dalby

Dalby is a town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland. The town is located at the junction of the Warrego, Moonie and Bunya Highways, and is the administrative centre for the Western Downs Region.

Dalby was founded in the early 1840s at a place known locally as "The Crossing" on Myall Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River. The first settler was Henry Dennis, who explored the region and chose land for himself and others in the locality.

A small settlement was founded to assist travellers heading north to nearby Jimbour Station. The explorer Ludwig Leichhardt visited the area in 1844, on his way to Port Essington.

In February 1853, the New South Wales government sent the Deputy Surveyor General Captain Samuel Perry to the area to survey a township. In August of the following year, Charles Douglas Eastaughffe arrived with a document under the Seal of the NSW Government officially proclaiming 'Dalby' a township.

Charles Eastaughffe was later appointed Chief Constable and remained in Dalby until his retirement.

The name of the town is believed to come from the village of Dalby on the Isle of Man, and was apparently chosen by Captain Samuel Perry when he surveyed the settlement in 1853. In 1859, Dalby became part of the new Colony of Queensland.

In August 1863, Dalby was officially proclaimed a municipality, the Borough of Dalby, in the Queensland Government Gazette, and on 16 April 1868, Dalby was linked to Ipswich by the Western railway line.

Dalby has a number of heritage-listed sites, including the former Dalby Town Council Chambers and Offices, St. John's Anglican Church, St Columba's Convent, Dalby Fire Station, Dalby State High School, Dalby War Memorial and Gates, and Dalby Olympic Swimming Pool.

Dalby is at the centre of Australia's richest grain and cotton growing area, and in the 2021 census, the locality of Dalby had a population of 12,758 people.