Population growth is creating new opportunities across Toowoomba, with local business owner Isaac Moody seeing the impact through tourism, hospitality and property.
The Queensland city recently recorded the strongest year-on-year growth in people moving from capital cities of any local government area in Australia, according to the latest Regional Movers Index.
For Moody, the trend is something he’s seeing firsthand.
When his family moved from the Sunshine Coast to Toowoomba during his primary school years, it wasn’t the obvious choice. Today, after building multiple businesses in the city, he’s convinced they made the right decision.
“I’ve been there ever since, and fallen in love with the town,” Moody said.
“It’s almost that Goldilocks size. Not too big, not too small. It’s a city I think that’s big enough to have a go, but small enough to have a great feel.”
His wedding venue, Gabbinbar Homestead, hosts around 250 weddings each year and employs about 70 people.
Moody said attracting visitors to Toowoomba has always been part of the venue’s purpose.
“The whole thing about Gabbinbar Homestead is getting people married in Toowoomba who don’t necessarily reside in the Toowoomba area,” he said.
“We’ve always had this tourism, bring-people-to-Toowoomba focus.”
More recently, Moody acquired artisan bakery The Baker’s Duck.
Since purchasing the business in 2022, customer numbers have quadrupled.
“We now serve around 10,000 customers each week,” he said.
The business is now preparing to open a second location and larger production facility.
Moody believes the city’s growing population has helped support that expansion.
“Right around the fringe of Toowoomba, the amount of greenfield development, residential people coming in, obviously the population is absolutely growing,” he said.
He also sees the appeal of the city firsthand through the people arriving in the region.
“People move for the lifestyle reasons. Great education, good schools and university town, and pretty good job opportunities as well,” he said.
While many regional communities continue to grapple with labour shortages, Moody believes Toowoomba’s size and diversity help attract and retain workers.
Importantly, he said many who relocate choose to stay.
“We find that when people come to work here, they stick.”
For Moody, Toowoomba’s growth story is far from over.
“It’s a great place to raise kids and have a family.”
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