About Texas

History

The McDougall brothers originally settled on the land where Texas Station is now situated approximately 1840.  The property was abandoned during the 1850’s while the brothers tried their luck on the goldfields.  When they returned they found their land had been taken by another settler and it was some time before they were able to establish their prior claim.

In 1836 Texas USA was at war with Mexico, fighting for their independence, so the McDougall’s called their property Texas, as their dispute was similar.  Subsequently the township of Texas was born on the river flats in 1875, near where the present town is today.  The town was relocated after disastrous floods in 1890 and 1921.

The primary objective of the first selectors in the Dumaresq Valley and surrounding country was to use the land for cattle production.  The rich, alluvial river flats soon attracted farmers to the area.  Corn was an early crop and by the late 1860’s Chinese were employed to grow tobacco.  The tobacco industry expanded rapidly all along the river and as the area under the crop increased, European growers gradually took over from the Chinese.  During the 1880’s a small factory produced plug tobacco and in 1908 a stemmery was established.  Tobacco was one of the mainstays of the area for many years and continued until the late 1960’s.

The rabbit industry also played an important role in the history of Texas.  The Riverside Freezing Works was completed in 1932 and throughout the district in those days, rabbits were in plague proportions and locals were able to make quite a good living out of trapping rabbits and selling them at the rabbit factory.  The factory also employed 33 men during the early years and the enterprise was credited with saving the township of Texas during the depression.

Texas Today

Situated on the Dumaresq River, Texas offers excellent fishing, great camping spots and the serenity of rural landscapes.  The surrounding bushland abounds with native fauna and an extensive selection of colourful wildflowers.  Primarily a sheep and cattle grazing area, Texas boasts a variety of other industries – orchards, small crop farming, feedlots and a growing tourism industry.  Local stock breeding pursuits range from cattle, sheep (fine wool), horses, deer, meat goats and ostrich.  Texas has a diverse array of shops and services which cater for an ample range of consumer needs.

Tourism is an ever growing industry in Texas – the town is on the “Rural Getaway”, a quiet, alternate tourist route between Queensland and New South Wales.  Stretching from the Fossickers Way at Warialda in New South Wales and joining with the Country Way at Mundubbera Queensland, the Rural Getaway provides the most direct route from Tamworth to Rockhampton.  Texas is also an RV Friendly town, and provides a free camping area near the bridge at the Dumaresq River.  This area is popular with caravans and motor homes and these visitors can enjoy all that the town has to offer.  There are many things to see and do at Texas including an art gallery, museums, fishing and camping spots, parks and walking tracks.

Texas is the ideal centralised holiday spot for travellers to discover the variety of interesting attractions the area has to offer.  On the eastern end of the Goondiwindi Regional Council, Texas is only 1-2 hours drive to all major centres including Toowoomba, Warwick, Goondiwindi, Stanthorpe and Inverell.  Ashford NSW is only a short drive away and offers many unique natural attractions including Kwiambal National Park with Limestone Caves and the MacIntyre Falls. 

Texas QLD Inc.

Texas Qld Inc is a small organisation, dedicated to the survival and growth of our town through tourism and supporting local businesses.  Formerly known as Texas Visitors Association Inc, our organisation was formed in 1986 to promote tourism in our district.  It was decided to change our name in 2009 to Texas Qld Inc as it was thought this better reflected what we are passionate about – the town of Texas.

Our association is responsible for the development and printing of the Texas Visitors Brochure, which is distributed through the tourist information centres in surrounding towns.  We also source tourist information and touring guides from other regions which we have made available in the Visitor Information Outlet located next to Texas News.  Together with Les & Beryl from Texas News, we keep this outlet stocked and up to date to keep visitors informed of the attractions our region has to offer.

We are responsible for organising the Texas Country Music Roundup which is held at the Texas Sporting Complex on the last weekend of September each year.  This event helps to bring visitors into our town.  Our other project is the restoration of the Historical Rabbit Processing Works in Mingoola Road.