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Southern Cross are proud to have been installing windmills Gladstone can count on since 1903.
With over 100 years of expertise designing and manufacturing windmills, Gladstone residents can be worry-free knowing they have the support of Australia’s oldest windmill manufacturer.
People all across Queensland are well aware of the importance of a sound water supply, and thanks to this, many of these people continue to turn to a Southern Cross Windmill.
Gladstone is the world’s fourth largest coal exporting terminal, and the city has become a vital cornerstone of the Queensland economy.
Southern Cross offers a range of sizes in both windwheels, and windmill towers, and can work with you to find the best windmill for you.
Our ‘IZ’ Double Geared Windmills range from a 6′ windwheel to a 14′ windwheel, and we offer tower heights from 20′ up to 60′. The best windmill tower for you will be determined by your geographical location, and the size of your chosen windwheel.
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:
Wind power is the oldest renewable energy source mankind has harnessed, and for thousands of years it has been used to power our boats and mill our grain.
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. For well over a hundred years, rural Australians in towns like Gladstone have relied on windmills as a renewable energy source, and the humble windmill has become an Australian icon.
Anywhere there is access to water, you can build a windmill, no matter if it’s a river, dam, bore or well, the windmill pump is one of the greenest and most reliable water harvesting solutions.
More than 80% of Australians live within a mere 50km of the coast – a testament to how dry and harsh the Australian conditions can be – and access to reliable water has always been a challenge for rural Australians.
The advent of the modern windmill, thanks to George Washington Griffiths, was a game changer for pastoralists and graziers, allowing them to move further away from the coast for stock grazing, where land was more affordable and accessible.
Most windmills are used to draw water from underground aquifers deep below the surface, but they can also be repurposed to reroute 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.
Windmills are proven to have a lasting success that remains to be seen with the more modern solar pumps, with many properties across Australia boasting wind pumps that are more than 50 years old and still functioning perfectly.
Despite solar systems being advertised as a safer option, they may contain a potentially dangerous current, while the “dangerous” windmill accounts for less than 1% of all accidents on rural properties.
For over a century, Southern Cross has been providing windmills that Australian families can count on. Each of our Windmills come with a 30+ year design life.
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.
All Southern Cross Windmills come with a 3-year warranty.
Southern Cross specialise in the design, manufacture, installation and service of windmills across Australia. We pride ourselves in the design and integrity of every Windmill we produce.
We design and engineer all of our windmills in house, and they are designed to be hardy enough to survive in even the harshest of Australian climates.
Authentic Southern Cross parts for all current range windmills are available for repairs or maintenance. If you are looking for parts for any past windmill, tower, pump or trough models, contact us to see if they are still available to order.
From the very first Southern Cross windmill rolling off the Toowoomba Foundry line in 1903, nobody has experience like we do of dealing with Gladstone and Australia’s unique water harvesting needs.
The first windmill built by the Griffiths family was produced in 1876, based on designs by Daniel Halladay, which were improved upon for Australian conditions.
The introduction of windmills to the Australian outback enabled rural families and pastoralists to inhabit more arid areas of the country, causing towns and pastoral runs to begin popping up across these areas.
Much like another Toowoomba icon – the lamington – Southern Cross windmills have become an Australian classic. However unlike the lamington, the Southern Cross Windmill originating in Toowoomba is not up for debate.
Operating out of Queensland to this day – in our Withcott factory – Southern Cross is an Australian owned and operated brand, servicing Australians from all across the country, from irrigators and graziers to rural families and households.
Now comfortably residing at the Gilgandra Museum and Historical Society, this 7.3 m Southern Cross windwheel was manufactured and delivered to Mendooran in 1924.
While now used purely for display purposes, the Windmill pumped tirelessly and vigilantly for 73 years before it was donated to the Gilgandra Museum and Historical Society by the Payne family in Mendooran.
This ageless windmill is now closing in on 100 years old, and serves as a testament to the durability and reliability of a Southern Cross windmill. At its last service, all that was needed was an oil top up to keep it running smoothly.
The Port of Gladstone is Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port and the fifth-largest multi-commodity port in Australia.
Gladstone wasn’t sighted by European settlers until 1802, however 32 years earlier, Captain James Cook’s crew sailed close by the harbour, only under cover of darkness, and it was not recorded.
Head on over to Heron island and experience the Great Barrier Reef firsthand, and while you’re enjoying the island life, why not stay a night on Wilson Island?
If you’re equipped with a four wheel drive, explore Kroombit Tops National Park, and take a break at the Boyne Valley lookout.
