With heritage, culture, nature, sport, food and wine, Queanbeyan is the ideal base for exploring Canberra and the surrounding regions from the Snowy Mountains to the majestic South Coast.
Queanbeyan has been declared one of the most liveable communities in NSW. Our unique location is a gateway to our national capital, which provides us with many benefits. We have it all here – a country lifestyle as well as easy access to city services and amenities which cater for a cosmopolitan lifestyle. Queanbeyan is one of the fastest growing regional centres in the state.
Useful Facts
Size : 172km 2
Population : 38,000
Climate : Warm summers, colourful autumns and springs, and crisp winters. Average temperature range is 12° to 28°C in summer and 1° to 13°C in winter. The average annual rainfall is 594mm.
Transport
Road : 20km from Canberra, 289km from Sydney
Rail : Departing Sydney Central Station and travelling to Queanbeyan via the Southern Highlands, Goulburn and Bungendore, takes around 4.5 hours
Airport : Canberra (9km from Queanbeyan)
Local: Deanes Buslines provides public route bus services in Queanbeyan and to Bungendore.
Education
- Australian National University
- University of Canberra
- Deakin University
- TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute Queanbeyan
Employment
More Queanbeyan City residents work in public administration and safety than any other industry.
Dining
For a small city Queanbeyan has a lot of choices when it comes to dining. Whether it be restaurant, cafe, fast food or a hearty club or pub meal, the choices are vast. Local pubs & clubs have great lunchtime specials. More exotic choices include Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Turkish and Indian restaurants.
Sport
Queanbeyan City is privileged to have a unique range of beautiful parks, sportfields, gardens and recreational areas for residents and visitors to enjoy and relax in. Queanbeyan City Council Parks and Recreation is strongly committed to promoting its leisure and recreation facilities.
Most parks have public toilets, barbeques and playground equipment.
Arts & Culture
From public art to performance, events to exhibitions, get involved and be inspired by the exciting cultural and arts expressions in Queanbeyan.
The Q – Queanbeyan’s Performing Arts Centre has attracted some world-class shows and presenters and continues to draw health crowds. If you’re looking for a top night out at a competitive price then get along to The Q and enjoy the atmosphere. There is a dedicated arts space at The Q which features exhibitions all year round.
The Queanbeyan Museum tells many of the fascinating stories of the city’s past, through displays of unique collections of historic photographs, documents, costumes, furniture, objects and tools, including a Blacksmith’s Shed and a Hospital display.
Aboriginal Culture
It is believed that the traditional Aboriginal people first arrived in the Queanbeyan around 20,000 years ago. With two major rivers flowing through the area it was an ideal settlement point with the rivers providing rich food sources in the form of fish, shellfish, water fowl and edible roots. The interfluvial country provided good grazing for emu, kangaroo and wallaby. Queanbeyan is on Ngambri/Ngunnawal land.
‘Quinbean’ was the original name given to the area of the settlement by Timothy Beard which is Aboriginal for ‘clear waters’ or ‘beautiful woman’.
