Archaeological Excavations in Toowoomba’s Queen’s Park – June 29 to July 3, 2015

USQ archaeologists to dig into Queens Park – USQ MEDIA RELEASE

 What lies deep beneath Queens Park will be unearthed as part of a University of Southern Queensland (USQ) dig next week (from June 29).

A team from USQ will begin an archaeological excavation in an attempt to uncover and document the foundations of the old conservatory site near the Campbell Street entrance.

Project leader USQ Associate Professor Lara Lamb (Anthropology and Archaeology) said the work was being undertaken as part of the Toowoomba Regional Council’s (TRC) program of upgrades.

“The Council is very interested in documenting the park’s cultural heritage and the conservatory was an important part of that heritage,” Associate Professor Lamb said.

“The conservatory was built in 1891 and was not demolished until 1979, according to several sources.

“It was built as part of a program of botanic research undertaken from the 1870s onwards, after the park was gazetted as a public reserve in 1869.”

Associate Professor Lamb will lead the excavation assisted by Professor Bryce Barker and a team of USQ students.

The project leader said the team would search for evidence of stone or brick foundations and the original flooring. There may also be traces of the plants once kept in the conservatory.

“It’s an exciting endeavour in an iconic part of Toowoomba. We are very pleased to be working with Toowoomba Regional Council on this,” Associate Professor Lamb said.

The excavation will be conducted from June 29-July 3 and will be viewable to the public.

The project is part of the Community Futures Program at USQ’s Institute for Resilient Regions (IRR). Associate Professor Lamb and Professor Barker are lecturers in archaeology and anthropology in USQ’s School of Arts and Communication.

Members of the public in possession of photographs or stories about the conservatory are invited to contact Associate Professor Lamb via lara.lamb@usq.edu.au.

For updates on the excavation visit:

• http://alifeinruins.com/
• USQ Archaeology and Anthropology on Facebook
• https://www.facebook.com/alifeinruins

Image credits: Local History and Robinson Collections, Toowoomba City Library

Media contact:

Sarah Balderson Green, email: sarah.balderson@usq.edu.au, Phone: 07 4631 1856

Rhianwen Whitney, email: rhianwen.whitney@usq.edu.au, Phone: 07 4631 2977