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Springsure

Coordinates: 24°07′S 148°05′E / 24.117°S 148.083°E / -24.117; 148.083
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Springsure
Queensland
Springsure Presbyterian Church
Springsure is located in Queensland
Springsure
Springsure
Coordinates24°07′S 148°05′E / 24.117°S 148.083°E / -24.117; 148.083
Population829 (2006 census)[1]
 • Density5.335/km2 (13.817/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4722
Elevation344.9 m (1,132 ft)
Area155.4 km2 (60.0 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Central Highlands Region
State electorate(s)Gregory
Federal division(s)Flynn
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
28.8 °C
84 °F		 14.0 °C
57 °F		 677.4 mm
26.7 in
Localities around Springsure:
Minerva Minerva Arcturus
Minerva Springsure Orion
Cona Creek Cona Creek Cairdbeign

Springsure is a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] It is 66 kilometres (41 mi) south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highway and the northern terminus of the Dawson Highway. It is 765 kilometres (475 mi) northwest of Brisbane. At the 2016 census, Springsure had a population of 1103.[1]

History

The town takes its name from a pastoral run name used from 1861, so named because of a permanent spring on the run.[2][3]

The area was originally occupied by Aboriginal people, for thousands of years.

Ludwig Leichhardt was the first European to explore the area between 1843 and 1845. His favourable reports encouraged settlers to move in and settle the land whose domains were those of Aboriginal groups.

In 1861 squatter Horatio Wills and a party of Victorian settlers arrived near modern-day Springsure in 1861. Two weeks later, 19 men women and children, including Wills, were killed by Aboriginal Australian people, the Kairi or Gayiri, in the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre, the largest massacre of European settlers by Aborigines in Australian history.[4] At least 15 Aboriginal men, women and children were killed[5] by the Queensland Native Police and militias of local European colonists and their employees, in a series of reprisals over the months that followed. However, the massacre of the 19 European family members was itself a retaliatory response to an earlier shooting of fugitive murderer who was Gayiri tribesman by Jesse Gregson (manager of nearby Rainsworth Station) with Second Lieutenant Alfred March Patrick and Native Police Troops in his command.[6] Prior to the massacre of the 19 colonists, Second Lieutenant Patrick had complained, in early 1861, to Charles Dutton (lessee of Bauhinia Downs pastoral lease 148 km south-east of Springsure) that other officers in the Queensland Native Police "...had been able to bag their first Aborigine after only a few weeks in the Force; he had served for six months and still had not yet killed a black."[7] The Old Rainworth Fort was built in 1862 by the colonists of Springsure in order to defend themselves from future raids by Aboriginals. Horatio's son, star cricketer and Australian rules football pioneer Tom Wills, survived the massacre, and remained on site until 1864.

The town was surveyed by Charles Frederick Gregory in August 1863.[2]

Unveiling the War Memorial fountain in Springsure State School, 6 December 1919

On 6 December 1919, the Springsure State School Memorial Fountain was dedicated by Mrs Annie Wheeler (née Laurie), a former pupil at the school. The memorial is a marble fountain and commemorates students of the school who served in World War I.[8][9]

On 16 November 1943 a Douglas C-47A Skytrain broke up in mid-air during a violent storm in the area, and crashed on Rewan Station, just south of Spingsure.[10] All 19 people on board the aircraft perished in the crash.[10]

Today, Springsure is a pastoral settlement serving cattle farms, and sunflower, sorghum, wheat and chickpea plantations.

Springsure State School opened on 14 March 1870.[11]

Heritage listings

Springsure has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Feature

A cliff face in the hills surrounding Springsure is known to the area as Virgin Rock, named because it once looked like the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, although years of erosion have blurred the original resemblance.

Facilities

Facilities at Springsure include an airport, caravan park, hospital, motocross track, police station, service station and showground.

The Central Highlands Regional Council operate a public library in Springsure at 27 Eclipse Street.[14]

Education

Springsure State School has 134 students enrolled and 17 teachers (17 equivalent full-time).[15] Their school motto is 'Success by Effort'.[16]

Springsure is the hub for several coal mines such as the Minerva Mine and the Rolleston Mine. Significant exploration is ongoing in the district. It is also a staging point for expeditions to the Carnarvon National Park.

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Springsure (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Springsure – town in Central Highlands Region (entry 31998)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Springsure – locality in Central Highlands Region (entry 46976)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  4. ^ "ROCKHAMPTON". The Courier. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 11 November 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. ^ T. Bottoms (2013) Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland's frontier killing times, Allen & Unwin, pp.53-54
  6. ^ T Bottoms (2013) Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland's frontier killing times, Allen & Unwin, p.54
  7. ^ G. Reid, "From Hornet Bank to Cullin-La-Ringo", Royal Historical Society of Queensland, 18 May 1981, p.69
  8. ^ "SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL MARBLE FOUNTAIN". The Morning Bulletin. Rockhampton, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 13 December 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Springsure State School Memorial Fountain". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Dunn, Peter. "16 NOVEMBER 1943 CRASH OF A C-47A DAKOTA ON REWAN STATION SOUTH OF SPRINGSURE, QLD". www.AustraliaAtWar.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Opening and closing dates of Queensland schools". Education Queensland. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Springsure Hospital Museum (entry 600025)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Old Rainworth Stone Store (entry 600026)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Locations". Central Highlands Regional Council. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Annual Report" (PDF). Education Queensland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Springsure State School". Education Queensland. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

Media related to Springsure at Wikimedia Commons

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