Likening the Darling Downs to Notre Dame cathedral is a bit of a leap, but I take the author's point.

Growing up in a town with the interminably boring name of Brisbane, within a state with the ghastly name of Queensland, I always thought the name 'Darling Downs' to be extremely exotic. As a small child, I thought it must have been named after someone's sweetheart who had fluffy skin. I was a bit crestfallen to later earn that it was named after just another politician and that downs are just large areas of open land.

I also often wonder if Australia's possible change to a republic is going to bring about a revisitation of our state names. I certainly hope so, as Tasmania is the only one with a remotely decent label. All the others either unimaginatively state a point on a compass or immortalise some dead monarch who never even saw the place.

But I digress. I do wish Dalby and the author well in their quest to keep some Darling in their Downs.