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Southern Cross are proud to have been installing windmills Highfields can depend on since 1903.
With over 100 years of expertise designing and manufacturing windmills, Highfields residents can be confident knowing they have the support of Australia’s oldest windmill manufacturer.
Statename families know how important reliable water harvesting systems are in the Australian outback, and this is why people all across the country continue to turn to a Southern Cross windmill.
The town of Highfields takes its name from the historic Highfields Pastoral Run, located north of the town, which saw use as early as the 1860s.
Southern Cross Windmills are available in a range of both windwheel and windmill tower sizes, and our experts can help you find the windmill that best suits your needs. Our ‘FA’ Series towers come between 20′ and 60′, and the ‘IZ’ windwheels are available in sizes starting at 6′ all the way up to a 14′ wheel. The dimensions of your windmill will be established by your surrounding landscape.
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 employed 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, along with being an Australian icon. Australian towns like Highfields have been using windmills to help them meet their water harvesting needs for over 100 years now, stretching over all parts of the continent.
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 reliable and greenest 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.
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 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.
As technology consistently advances, there have been a number of challengers to the humble Windmill pump, the most recent of which being solar pumps.
Windmills are proven to have a lasting success that remains to be seen with the more modern solar pumps, with plenty of properties across Australia boasting wind pumps that are more than 50 years old and still operating perfectly.
While many solar systems may be marketed as a safer option, windmill accidents make up not even 1% of all accidents on rural properties, while many electric pumps contain a dangerous or lethal current.
For over a century, Southern Cross has been providing windmills that Australian families can count on. All 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.
Every Southern Cross Windmill comes with our 3 year windmill 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 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 Highfields’ water storage needs, with the very first Southern Cross branded windmill being produced at the Toowoomba Foundry all the way back in 1903.
The Griffiths family produced their first windmills in 1876, which were based on plans from American inventor Daniel Halladay, and improved upon for durability and performance
The introduction of windmills to the Australian outback allowed 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.
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.
Now confortably located 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 operating smoothly.
The Highfields Pioneer Historical Village is home to a large collection of vintage Australian machinery, along with a range of historic Southern Cross products, including pumps and original logos.
In the 70’s, attempting to cash in on the craze of Australia’s Big Things, the Big Cow was constructed in Highfields. In the passing years the cow fell into disrepair, and is now being maintained and restored at the Highfields Pioneer Historical Village.
Not in Highfields? For Windmills Oakey click here.
