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Southern Cross are proud to have been installing windmills Monto can count on since 1903.
With over 100 years of experience designing and manufacturing windmills, Monto residents can be confident 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 collecting needs.
Located just over 200km inland from Bundaberg, Monto is a mixed industry town originally used by pastoralists in the late 1800’s.
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 upon 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:
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, 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.
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.
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 were able to set up large stations and pastoral runs well inland.
While most rural properties use their windmills to draw water from bores or wells, windmills can also pump water from rivers and creeks, or into and out of dams.
As with any other sector, as technology improves, challengers will present themselves. The most recent challenger to the windmill being solar pumps
Windmill pumps on some properties across the country have been reliably operating for over 50 years, and while solar looks promising, its longevity has not yet been proven.
While many solar systems may be marketed as a safer option, windmill accidents account for less than 1% of all accidents on rural properties, while many electric pumps contain a dangerous or lethal current.
Southern Cross has been providing windmills that Australian families can depend on for over a century, and all of our windmills have 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.
Genuine Southern Cross parts for all current range windmills are available, in addition to 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.
From the very first Southern Cross windmill rolling off the Toowoomba Foundry line in 1903, nobody has experience like we do of handling Monto and Australia’s unique water harvesting needs.
The Griffiths family produced their first windmills in 1876, which were based on blueprints from American engineer Daniel Halladay, and improved upon for strength and performance
The introduction of windmills to the Australian outback allowed rural families and pastoralists to populate 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 still operates out of Queensland to this day, and is an Australian owned and operated company, servicing Australians all across the country, helping graziers, irrigators, families and more access reliable water harvesting infrastructure.
This Southern Cross windwheel – a substantial 7.3 m – now lives at the Gilgandra Museum and Historical Society, and was originally supplied by Southern Cross Windmills in 1924.
Before being donated to the Gilgandra Museum and Historical Society by the Payne family, this antique gentle giant dependably pumped water in Mendooran for over 73 years.
This ageless windmill is now closing in on 100 years old, and serves as a testament to the durability and dependability of a Southern Cross windmill. At its last service, all that was needed was an oil top up to keep it operating smoothly.
Monto has gone from pastoralist region, to dairy town, to mining town and around again, thanks to verdant soil and rich gold deposits. The gold deposits in the river dig sites have since been flooded by the Cania Dam.
Not in Monto? For Windmills Gin Gin click here.
