Menu
At Southern Cross we’ve been designing and installing Windmills Blackwater locals can trust since 1903.
With over 100 years of expertise designing and manufacturing windmills, Blackwater residents can be comfortable knowing they have the support of Australia’s oldest windmill manufacturer.
People in Queensland are mindful of their need for a reliable water supply, and due to this, many have, and still look to a Southern Cross windmill to help them meet their water pumping and harvesting needs.
Blackwater derives its name from the Blackwater Creek, which was once observed to run black with water from nearby coal deposits.
Our windmills are available in a range of sizes. The Southern Cross Windmill can be fitted with a windwheel between 6′ and 14′, and mounted on a tower between 20′ and 60′.
Our experts can help determine what wheel and tower sizes would best suit your windmill, based on the landscape you wish to have it built on, and the amount of wind your property receives.
The Southern Cross “FA” Series Windmill Towers are available in the following heights:
The minimum recommended tower height for each windwheel size, is as follows:
For centuries, we have worked with wind to power our boats, mill our grain and pump our water. Wind power is the first renewable energy to be harnessed by mankind.
Windmills have been a part of rural living in Australia for well over a century, and is a great renewable energy source, in addition to being an Australian icon. Windmills have been a part of rural living in Australia for well over a century, and is a great renewable energy source, along with being an Australian icon.
Windmills can be built anywhere there is access to water, whether it be a bore, a well, a river or dam, the windmill continues to be one of the most effective and greenest water harvesting solutions.
Water has always provided a challenge for Australians, living in a famously dry and arid country – so much so that 85% of Australia’s population is located within a mere 50km from the nearest coastline.
Before the arrival of the modern windmill to rural Australia, many pastoralists and graziers were restricted by water supply, but when these windmills were introduced, they had the capacity to set up large stations and pastoral runs well inland.
Most windmills are used to pump water from underground water tables deep below the surface, but they can also be repurposed to redirect water from a river or creek, or pump it into or from a dam.
The solar water pump has recently presented itself as the latest challenger to the windmill, as water harvesting technology looks to modernise.
While solar pumps look promising, they certainly aren’t as tried and tested in the long term as the classic windmill, with many properties across Australia featuring windmills that have been pumping water for more than 50 years.
Windmill accidents make up less than 1% of all accidents on rural properties, so while solar pumps are often regarded as a safer option, they contain a dangerous current, and also pose risk of injury or death.
With a 30+ year design life, and over a century’s experience in supplying windmills to Australian families, Southern Cross Windmills are a name you can rely on.
Since 1903, over 250 000 iconic Southern Cross Windmills have been built. All windmills produced by Southern Cross are hot dip galvanised, and supported by over 100 years of winning windmill design.
Every Southern Cross Windmill includes our 3 year windmill warranty.
At Southern Cross we pride ourselves in the design and integrity of our Windmills. We specialise in the design, manufacture, installation and servicing of top-notch windmills, across Australia and around the world.
All of our windmills are designed and engineered in-house, and are durable enough to survive in the harshest of Australian climates, rain, hail or shine.
Authentic Southern Cross parts for all current range windmills are readily available, as well as other parts for A, J, R & Z Pattern Windmills”, “J” Series Windmill Pumps, Troughs, Check Valves, Pump Heads and Pump Jacks may still be available upon request.
Southern Cross Windmills has unparalleled experience in dealing with towns like water storage needs, with the very first Southern Cross branded windmill being produced at the Toowoomba Foundry all the way back in 1903.
The first windmills built by the Griffiths family in the Toowoomba Foundry were improved versions of blueprints designed by an American Engineer, Daniel Halladay, and these were produced more than a century ago, in 1876.
These first windmills allowed rural Australians to move into more arid areas of the country for grazing sheep and cattle, and inland towns and pastoral runs began to emerge across the nation.
Unlike another Aussie classic, the lamington, Southern Cross Windmills origins in Toowoomba are not up for debate, however, both have certainly gone on to become recognisable Australian icons.
Southern Cross is an Australian owned brand, and we still operate out of Withcott to this day, servicing Australians all across the country, including graziers, irrigators and rural families.
This Southern Cross windwheel – a substantial 7.3 m – now resides at the Gilgandra Museum and Historical Society, and was initially supplied by Southern Cross Windmills in 1924.
The stunning windmill is now used solely for display purposes, but it pumped water vigilantly for 73 years before it was donated to the Gilgandra Museum and Historical Society by the Payne family.
Now closing in on 100 years old, at its most recent service, all that was required was some oil in order to maintain it. While it probably won’t get a letter from the queen, this windmill is a testament to the reliability and longevity of Southern Cross Windmills.
There has been prosperous coal mining operations in the Blackwater region for over 150 years, since Ludwig Leichhardt discovered coal deposits on an expedition in 1845. Over the years over 100 000 people are estimated to have been employed in mines in the Blackwater region.
Not in Blackwater? For Windmills Biloela click here.
