provided a haven for many animal species not currently found on the downs. The Darling Downs hopping mouse and paradise parrot have both become extinct since cattle farming began. The New Acland Mine expansion, north of Oakey, has been delayed by the largest environmental public interest court cases in Australian history. Awards In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Darling Downs was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location". In fiction Steele Rudd (Arthur Davis) wrote a series of comic novels on rural life, starting with On Our Selection (1899), about Dad, Mother and Dave Rudd of Snake Gully. The Rudds had four (or six) acres adjoining a sheep run in the Darling Downs. The stories were made into films and a radio series. See also Darling Downs Correctional Centre References External links Tour of The Minister for Lands (the Hon. E. H. Macartney) in the Darling Downs and Maranoa districts, May and June, 1911, State Library of Queensland Southern Darling Downs Toowoomba.org – Toowoomba's Homepage Murray-Darling basin Great Dividing Range Agriculture in Queensland Pre-Separation Queensland Squatting in Australia