Springsure
Postcode: 4722
Springsure is a small town in Queensland, 66 km south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is 765 km northwest of Brisbane and is the main centre for Bauhinia Shire.
The town derived its name from the permanent springs in the creek and gullies at the time of settlement in the area. The town developed primarily from the early wagon teams camping on their way from Rockhampton to the Gulf and Barcoo country.
The area was first explored by Ludwig Leichhardt and his favourable reports encouraged settlers to move in. Springsure saw a massacre of Europeans by the Aboriginal Australian people, the Kairi, who resisted encroachment on their lands (Known as the Wills massacre or Cullin-La-Ringo massacre). At least 19 are known to have perished.
Today, Springsure is a pastoral settlement serving cattle farms as well as sunflower, sorghum, wheat and chickpea plantations.
A cliff face in the hills surrounding Springsure is known to the area as Virgin Rock. As although know years of erosion have perished the natural formation it once looked like the Vigin Mary cradling the baby Jesus. It is also a staging point for expeditions to the Carnarvon National Park.
The Staircase Range Cutting, built in 1905 by Chinese labour, pays tribute to the early wagon trails, once the lifeblood for the township. the Staircase Range itself is a sandstone escarpment that has naturally formed into the shape of a staircase.