Sunflowers in CliftonA short distance south of Toowoomba, you will find the quintessential country town of Clifton. Located on the rail line halfway between Toowoomba and Warwick, Clifton offers ‘acres of opportunity’ at affordable prices. Clifton is a picturesque town, particularly when the sunflowers start to bloom on surrounding agricultural properties.

A number of Australian films and television series have used Clifton as a background, with the most recent production being the Australian television series ‘Wanted’. The classic streetscape of Clifton and its building facades have been used in a number of Australian movies including 'The Thornbirds'.

Clifton is well equipped to cater for the needs of residents and visitors, offering a wide range of essential services, retail outlets, sports and community facilities. Clifton has a strong rugby league history and is home to elite standard polo fields.

Clifton is growing as a destination to visit after recently gaining ‘RV Friendly Town’ status by the Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia, drawing many visitors to the town with affordable short-stay options for the astute RV traveller. Just a short drive north of Clifton is the village of Nobby and the well-known Rudd’s Pub, which has an extensive display of historic memorabilia and photographs of the area’s pioneering past.

Living in Clifton

Clifton is a community of 1,500 people, with a surrounding population of almost 3,000, offering many conveniences and services found in larger city centres. The town is known for its excellent medical services and schools as well as an abundance of high quality recreation and sporting facilities catering to a large regional area. The town has a customer service centrelibrary and community centre. Sports facilities include a 25m indoor poolgolf course, and racetrack. The topography of the town is very friendly with accessibility being a key attribute of the area.

Schooling

Clifton is one of the few rural communities on the Darling Downs offering schooling from Prep to year 12. Clifton has a State Government primary school and a Catholic primary school (prep to year 6). The local State Government high school (years 7 to 12) offers specialised agriculture and equine studies. Two higher education institutions, the University of Southern Queensland and TAFE Queensland South West, are located approximately 45 minutes away.

Retail and other services

Clifton has a number of cafes and hotels offering a range of food and beverage options. There is also a supermarket, newsagent, butcher, hardware store, post office and various mechanical trades.

Health care

Clifton Cooperative Hospital Ltd is a community owned, not-for-profit, charitable organisation that has been servicing the health needs of Clifton and district since 1949. The organisation has grown over the years and under the trading name of Clifton Community Health Services currently operates the following services:

  • Clifton Co-Op Private Hospital Ltd, 12 bed private hospital
  • Clifton Nursing Home, 23 bed nursing home
  • Nirvana Hostel, 15 bed hostel
  • Vedette Villas, 8 independent living villas
  • Clifton Medical Practice, brand new state-of-the-art premises

The nursing home will be expanding over the coming year to include construction of a 12 bed Memory Support Wing to assist community members living with dementia.

Exploring Clifton

Embark on the Clifton Heritage Walking Trail to discover the historical treasures of the town. The self-guided tour commences from the Railway Station and finishes at the cemetery, incorporating 43 sites in total.  Explore the district's pioneering past at the Clifton Historical Museum. Just out of Clifton on the Gatton-Clifton Rd, is the Darling Downs Zoo, showcasing animals from Australia, Africa, South America and South East Asia. 

To the north of Clifton, the small town of Nobby is located, which is the home of the well known Rudd's Pub. The pub is dedicated to Arthur Hoey Davis, also known as Steele Rudd, who lived in the area and found inspiration there for his stories in 'On Our Selection'. It also has an extensive display of historic memorabilia and photographs of the area's pioneering past.

The Sister Kenny memorial is also located in Nobby. Sister Elizabeth Kenny lived in the area and was known for her revolutionary treatment for the victims of polio.

Opportunities in Clifton

The Clifton area is well suited for small retail, professional services, over 50’s lifestyle living and transportation industry growth. Clifton has the opportunity to capitalise on the rich agricultural land with improved access to markets through the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, Wellcamp Airport and the proposed Inland Rail project. The growth of the Toowoomba Region and highly desirable property costs make Clifton an ideal location for growing a business.

Investing in Clifton

The surrounding fertile plains are diverse agricultural producers of cattle, pigs, cereal crops, sunflowers and honey. Small business and tourism are also significant contributors to the economy. Real estate prices in Clifton cannot be overlooked when considering a property purchase or growing a business.

Industrial land

  • Industrial land in Clifton is reasonably priced from $110sqm. A number of industrial blocks and facilities are currently available.
  • Commercial space - Commercial space in Clifton is available from $350sqm.
  • Agricultural land - Clifton has very fertile agricultural land ranging from $2,500 per acre to $5,000 per acre.
  • Residential property - The median house price in June 2015 was $196,000
  • Median rent for a three bedroom home is $260 per week as of March 2016.

Connectivity

  • 40 minutes south of Toowoomba CBD
  • 45 minutes to the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport
  • 30 minutes north of Warwick
  • 2 hours to Brisbane
  • 2¼ hours to Brisbane Airport
  • Just under 2¾ hours to the Gold Coast
  • Just over 3½ hours to the Sunshine Coast
  • Easy access to southern states via the New England Highway
  • NBN is planned to be installed throughout Clifton in 2017

Workforce

Clifton has a diverse workforce. The 2011 Census recorded the following categories:

  • Labourers 17.7%
  • Managers 16.2%
  • Technicians and trades workers 13.7%
  • Clerical and administrative workers 11.1%
  • Professionals 10.8%
  • Community and personal service workers 10.6%
  • Machinery operators and drivers 9.7%
  • Sales workers 9.5%

Community contacts

Clifton Community Growth Action Plan

In 2015 a number of Community Growth Action Plans were developed.

Success for each community is best determined by the residents themselves, based on their aspirations, ideals and value systems.  In order to better understand what these are, Council facilitated a number of meetings with community members to draw out what issues each town is facing, identify what the potential solutions and opportunities might be and to determine which ones should be focussed on as a priority.  These have been documented in plans for five communities which can be found in the related document section.

Related documents

Clifton Community Growth Action Plan