The Pittsworth Post Office at the Folk Museum, Pittsworth

Pittsworth
Attractive and historic township south-west of Toowoomba.
Located 169 km south-west of Brisbane via the Warrego Highway, 41 km south-west of Toowoomba and 518 m above sea-level, Pittsworth presents itself to the world as a town with lots of interesting buildings and places of historical importance. Unfortunately this presentation is not matched by the quiet reality of an attractive town of tree-lined streets where there are only a few interesting buildings.

The town was originally known as Beauaraba but the name was changed in 1915 in honour of a prominent local family who took up land at Goombungee in 1854.

Pittsworth grew up around a hotel which attracted itinerant rural workers and local landholders. The town's centenary was celebrated in 1976. The European settlement of the area was greatly aided by the arrival of the railway in 1887 and the transition from large to smaller holdings and from sheep to dairy farming. The Co-operative Dairy Company opened in 1896. By 1914 Pittsworth had a number of dairy factories which were producing about 80 per cent of all the cheese being manufactured on the Darling Downs. This cheese making reached some kind of dubious nadir in 1915 when the town made a single block of cheddar cheese weighing 1.5 tonnes. It was duly shipped off to the World Dairy Show in London.

Today Pittsworth is an attractive, small service centre for the surrounding farms which grow cereal crops, cotton, linseed and sunflowers as well as fattening beef cattle.

Things to see:  

The Folk Museum
The most important attraction in the town is the Pittsworth & District Historical Society Folk Museum which can be easily opened by appointment, tel: (07) 4693 1997. The caretaker lives at the back of the complex. This interesting and well-presented complex is located on the outskirts of town and is signposted at the first street off the bypass.

Like so many of the folk museums on the Darling Downs the Pittsworth Museum combines a fine collection of old buildings - schools, the former post office, an 1895 cottage - with some fascinating memorabilia. Items include a chantilly lace wrap which once belonged to Florence Nightingale, a love letter written by Governor Bligh's mother, an outdoor display of carts and farm equipment and memorabilia connected with Arthur Postle who, in 1906, was proclaimed 'the fastest man in the world' when he won the 220 yards World Championship Cup.

Buildings
In the main street the ANZ Bank (1905) and adjacent buildings are of interest. One block away is the gracious St Stephens Catholic Church (1908).

	Motels
	Golden Grain Motel Yandilla St Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 1206 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Pittsworth Hotel/Motel Yandilla St Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 1092 Rating: **
	Tattershalls Club Hotel Yandilla St Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 1226
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Hawthorn Homestead Guesthouse (16km S of Pittsworth) Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 5119 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Shady Rest Caravan Park Yandilla St Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 1440 Rating: **
	Restaurants
	Pittsworth Chinese Restaurant 58 Yandilla St Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 1919
	Cafés
	Pittsworth Sunkist Cafe 88 Yandilla St Pittsworth QLD 4356 Telephone: (07) 4693 1246