Mount Surprise, Queensland

Mount Surprise is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia.^[3][4] In the 2021 census, the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 138 people.^[1]

Mount Surprise Queensland
Mount Surprise railway station
Mount Surprise
Coordinates	18.1455°S 144.3175°E / -18.1455; 144.3175 (Mount Surprise (town centre))
Population	138 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	0.03819/km2 (0.0989/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4871
Elevation	453 m (1,486 ft)[2]
Area	3,613.4 km2 (1,395.1 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	99.9 km (62 mi) W of Georgetown 124 km (77 mi) SW of Mount Garnet 219 km (136 mi) SW of Atherton 285 km (177 mi) SW of Cairns 1,717 km (1,067 mi) NNW of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Shire of Etheridge
State electorate(s)	Traeger
Federal division(s)	Kennedy
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 31.1 °C 88 °F 16.1 °C 61 °F 790.3 mm 31.1 in
Localities around Mount Surprise: Abingdon Downs Fossilbrook Springfield Forty Mile Talaroo Mount Surprise Minnamoolka Einasleigh Conjuboy Greenvale

Geography

Waterlily dam, 2022

The town is located in the Gulf Savannah in Far North Queensland on the Gulf Developmental Road, 1,722 kilometres (1,070 mi) north west of the state capital, Brisbane and 285 kilometres (177 mi) west of the regional centre of Cairns.

History

The town was founded by Ezra Firth, from the English county of Yorkshire, who along with his family settled in the area in 1864. The property struggled at first; relations with the indigenous inhabitants of the country were hostile and the country was not suited for wool growing. The discovery of gold in the 1880s and the subsequent gold rush allowed Firth to sell his sheep to the miners, convert his holding to cattle and become wealthy selling goods to the miners. In 1908, the Etheridge railway line reached Mount Surprise.^[5]

Mount Surprise Post Office opened by July 1908.^[6]

In October 1942 detachments of 16 Australian Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers travelled to Cooktown, Mount Surprise and Coen to build Repeater Huts.^[7]

Mount Surprise State School opened on 12 February 1917.^[8]

Demographics

In the 2006 census, the locality of Mount Surprise and the surrounding area had a population of 162 people.^[9]

In the 2011 census, the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 306 people.^[10]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 169 people.^[11]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 138 people.^[1]

Heritage listings

Mount Surprise has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Gulf Developmental Road: Radar Hill^[12]
• Via Mount Surprise: Quartz Hill Coach Change Station^[13]
• Etheridge railway line: Mount Surprise railway station^[14]

Education

Mount Surprise State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Garland Street (18.1465°S 144.3199°E / -18.1465; 144.3199 (Mount Surprise State School)).^[15][16] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 23 students with 3 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).^[17]

There are no secondary schools in Mount Surprise, nor nearby.^[18] Distance education and boarding school are options.

Amenities

The town has a pub, one cafe, two petrol stations with a small store, a post office, a train station, a gem-shop, a police station and two trailer parks or caravan parks.^[19] One park, Bedrock Village Caravan Park & Tours, has camp sites, cabins and a pool. It is one of the tour operators for guided tours to the lava tubes at Undara Volcanic National Park.^[20] At the Mount Surprise Tourist Park, a large bird aviary is open to the public.

Attractions

Some of the Savannahlander tourist rail services start from, passes through, or stop at Mount Surprise.^[21]

Collins Lookout is in the north of the locality (18.0389°S 144.4886°E / -18.0389; 144.4886 (Collins Lookout)).^[22] It is within the Byrimine cattle station.

The town is near the Undara Volcanic National Park and Forty Mile Scrub National Park. Other activities in the area include gem fossicking.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Bedrock Village Caravan Park
• 
  Elizabeth Creek behind Bedrock Village
• 
  A Brachychiton australis (Broad-leaved bottle tree) in Undara Volcanic National Park

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mount Surprise (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
2. "Bureau of Meteorology". Archived from the original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
3. "Mount Surprise – town in Shire of Etheridge (entry 23158)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
4. "Mount Surprise – locality in Shire of Etheridge (entry 41666)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
5. "Mount Surprise". Walkabout - Australian Travel Guide. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 3 September 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
6. Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
7. North, Alan Reeve (2011). Building bases : 16 Australian Field Company Royal Engineers, in the defence of Australia in World War II. Canberra, Australia: Alan Reeve North. p. 23. ISBN 9780646547039.
8. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
9. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Mount Surprise (Etheridge Shire) (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
10. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Mount Surprise (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
11. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mount Surprise (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
12. "No.53 RDF Station (entry 602259)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
13. "Quartz Hill Coach Change Station Site and Cemetery (entry 602232)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
14. "Etheridge Railway (entry 601637)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
15. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
16. "Mount Surprise State School". Retrieved 4 March 2021.
17. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
18. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
19. "Mt Surprise". Etheridge Shire Council. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
20. "Bedrock Village Caravan Park & Tours". Bedrock Village Caravan Park & Tours. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
21. "Tours". Savannahlander. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
22. "Tourist points - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

External links

• "Town map of Mount Surprise". Queensland Government. 1976.

Panorama of Elizabeth Creek Valley. This picture was taken from the northern side of the O'Brien's Creek Fossicking Area from a hilltop.