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Last Updated: Monday, 21 July 2025 12:49
Crows Nest township

Crows Nest offers an idyllic, safe and affordable country lifestyle, well suited to young families, retirees and first home buyers. Offering many amenities, a rich history, a vibrant art scene and boutique businesses, the town’s community spirit is thriving. Its picturesque location, relaxed rural atmosphere, and natural attractions all make Crows Nest a very desirable place to live. In the centre of the green in the town, is the statue of Jimmy Crow, after whom the town was named. Its streets are filled with striking old buildings that house antique shops, restaurants, cafés and galleries. The town has day care facilities, a primary school, secondary school, medical centre, a local library and Folk Museum & village. Sporting facilities include an indoor sports centre, swimming pool, golf course and two bowls clubs.

Crows Nest is located 44kms north-east of Toowoomba on the New England Highway. It is an easy commute to Toowoomba to access all the services of a major centre. Although located in the region defined as the Darling Downs, Crows Nest is situated 543 metres above sea level, atop the Great Dividing Range and as a result is set amongst rolling hills. Close by are four National Parks and three lakes (Cressbrook, Perseverance & Cooby). The vegetation ranges from open woodlands to forests including some rainforest areas. The district is known for its beautiful tall eucalypts with diverse wildlife including birdlife and rock wallabies. Crows Nest has a pleasant climate and natural beauty. A multitude of outdoor adventures are on offer such as bush walking, bird watching, tourist drives and bike, horse and soft 4WD trails.

Crows Nest had a population of 1,596 at the 2011 census date and services an estimated regional population of 3376 (2015), offering a mix of localised services, businesses and industry. There is a selection of retail shops, restaurants, and cafes. It has a butcher, bakery, supermarket, two banks, a produce store, newsagent, library and art gallery as well as arts and crafts outlets in and around the town. The highway passing through town offers great opportunities for passing trade.

Lifestyle

  • Family friendly
  • Crows Nest National Park – spectacular creek scenery, granite outcrops, a scenic waterfall and eucalypt forest. There are walking trails, picnic facilities, camping and caravanning facilities.
  • Lake Cressbrook – camping, fishing, sailing, kayaking, walking, bird-watching.
  • Sporting activities – in particular bowls, swimming, rugby league, golf, soccer, tennis, pony clubs, martial arts, squash and pistol clubs.
  • Sporting facilities – indoor sports centre, heated swimming pool, squash court, tennis courts, 11 hole golf course, bowling greens and pistol range.
  • Parks – there are a number of appealing parks in the area.
  • The region has four distinct seasons and spring is a particularly lovely time of year with the parks and gardens erupting in a riot of colour.
  • Council customer service centre, public library and art gallery.
  • Many community organisations, clubs and churches.

More information on Crows Nest lifestyle, events and facilities can be found on the Crows Nest District Tourist and Progress Association Inc website

Connectivity

  • The township is located on the New England Highway which is one of the main routes to North Queensland and is one of the towns on ‘Australia’s Country Way’, the classic road trip from Sydney to Rockhampton.
  • 45 minute drive to the Toowoomba CBD
  • 50 minutes’ drive to the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport
  • 2 hours’ drive to Brisbane
  • 2 hours’ drive to Brisbane Airport
  • 2.5 hours’ drive to the Sunshine Coast
  • Just under 3 hours’ drive to the Gold Coast
  • Ease of access to northern and southern Australia via the New England Highway
  • NBN is planned to be rolled out in Crows Nest in early 2018

Education

Crows Nest offers a kindergarten, childcare centre and a quality state education program from Prep to Year 10. Highfields is located a short 20 minute bus ride away where the Secondary College will take Year 12 students by 2019. Highfields has a state primary school and the Mary MacKillop Catholic College offers an educational program for Prep to Year 12 students. Two higher education institutions, the University of Southern Queensland and TAFE Queensland South West are located in Toowoomba, approximately 45 minutes’ drive.

Development incentive - regional townships and communities

To encourage development that supports the growth and liveability of our regional townships and rural communities, we offer discounts on infrastructure charges for housing, business and essential service projects. To learn more or check your eligibility, visit Development incentives.

Community contacts

Crows Nest 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 under the related documents section.

Related documents

Crows Nest Community Growth Action Plan