Kleinton & Highfields Area
For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal peoples have cared for and maintained deep connections to the land on which Amaroo Environmental Education Centre now stands. The Jarowair and Giabal peoples are recognised as the Traditional Custodians of the Toowoomba–Highfields region.
A short distance from Amaroo is Gummingurru, a significant Aboriginal stone arrangement and ceremonial site. Cultural knowledge shared by Traditional Custodians describes the site as part of a network of places used by Aboriginal groups travelling through the region on their way to the Bunya Mountains for important seasonal gatherings. These gatherings brought together many Aboriginal groups for ceremony, cultural exchange, trade and community decision-making, and the cultural connections to the Bunya Mountains remain strong today as First Nations communities continue to share knowledge, celebrate culture and maintain relationships with Country.
The arrival of European settlers in the region during the nineteenth century brought profound and often devastating changes for Aboriginal communities, including dispossession from land and conflict. As a result of this history, relatively few descendants of the Jarowair and Giabal peoples remain living in the immediate area today, though cultural connections to Country continue.
European Settlement
European settlement in the Kleinton and Highfields district began during the 1840s, with land primarily used for grazing. Population growth remained slow for several decades before expanding in the 1870s, when additional industries such as dairy farming and timber harvesting developed in the region.
The opening of the railway line from Toowoomba in 1883 supported further development and settlement. The most significant population growth occurred during the second half of the twentieth century, particularly from the 1960s onward. From the early 1990s, the Highfields area experienced rapid expansion as residential development increased along the northern fringe of Toowoomba.
Kleinton State School
Kleinton State School opened on 20 February 1911 as a small one-teacher school serving local families. The school operated for nearly sixty years before closing in 1970.
It is believed that the land for the school was donated to the Department of Public Instruction by the Brazier family, who owned a local brickworks. The two-acre site included the brick school building that still stands today. The structure is believed to be the oldest surviving one-teacher brick school building in Queensland.
Amaroo Environmental Education Centre
Following the closure of Kleinton State School, the site remained unused until 14 March 1975, when it reopened as the Amaroo Field Study Centre. The centre was established to support schools in the Toowoomba region through environmental education programs and outdoor learning experiences.
In its early years, Amaroo provided both camping programs and day visits for school groups. Staff also managed the Deongwar State Forestry campsite on the Hampton–Esk Road, which supported residential environmental programs until the site closed in 2000.
In 1992, the centre was renamed Amaroo Environmental Education Centre, reflecting its growing role in supporting schools through environmental learning, field investigations and place-based education.
On the 18th October 2025, Amaroo EEC celebrated it's 50th Anniversary with community members. The event received a Highfields Community Event of the Year Award In recognition of promoting the welfare and wellbeing of the local community and providing a positive role model for others. Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor and Councillors also acknowledged this milestone as a "remarkable achievement and a fitting tribute to five decades of dedication to environmental education, cultural understanding and community connection."
Today Amaroo continues this tradition, working in partnership with schools to provide learning experiences that connect students with the landscapes, histories and cultures of the Darling Downs region.