Mount Surprise is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Shire of Etheridge The Shire of Etheridge is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia in what is known as the Savannah Gulf region. Its economy is based on cattle grazing and mining. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government e ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 169 people.

Geography

Waterlily Dam, Cattle station, Mt Surprise, North Queensland, 2022

The town is located in the Gulf Savannah in Far North Queensland on the

Gulf Developmental Road Gulf Developmental Road is an Australian highway linking the Cairns and Normanton regions in northern Queensland, Australia. It is the only sealed (asphalt) road linking these two regions. In the east, the road begins at an unnamed junction o ...

, north west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and west of the regional centre of Cairns.

History

The town was founded by Ezra Firth, from the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, who along with his family settled in the area in 1864. The property struggled at first; relations with the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

inhabitants of the country were hostile and the country was not suited for wool growing. The discovery of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

in the 1880s and the subsequent

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

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 Etheridge railway line is a heritage-listed railway line between Mount Surprise and Forsayth, both in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It includes Mount Surprise railway station, Einasleigh railway station, Wirra Wirra railwa ...

reached Mount Surprise. Mount Surprise Post Office opened by July 1908. Mount Surprise State School opened on 12 February 1917. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Mount Surprise and the surrounding area had a population of 162. In the 2011 census, Mount Surprise had a population of 306 people. In the , the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 169 people.

Heritage listings

Mount Surprise has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Gulf Developmental Road:

Radar Hill Har Adar ( he, הַר אֲדָר) is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council in the Seam Zone and the Maccabim sub-region of the West Bank. Founded in 1986, it had a population of in . It is located near Abu Ghosh and the Green Li ...

* Via Mount Surprise:

Quartz Hill Coach Change Station Quartz Hill Coach Change Station Site and Cemetery is a heritage-listed coaching inn, coach station in Mount Surprise, Queensland, Mount Surprise, Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1888 to 1908. It was added to the Qu ...

: Mount Surprise railway station

Education

Mount Surprise State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Garland Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 23 students with 3 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Mount Surprise, nor nearby.

Distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and boarding school are options.

Amenities

The town has a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, one cafe, two

petrol stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gaso ...

with a small store, a post office, a train station, a gem-shop, a police station and two trailer parks or caravan parks. 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 The Undara Volcanic National Park is a national park in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It is situated 275 kilometres southwest of Cairns just off the Gulf Developmental Road. The park was established in 2009 to protect Australia ...

. At the Mount Surprise Tourist Park, a large bird aviary is open to the public.

Attractions

Some of the

Savannahlander The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to Forsay ...

tourist rail services start from, passes through, or stop at Mount Surprise. Collins Lookout is in the north of the locality (). It is within the Byrimine cattle station. The town is near the

and

Forty Mile Scrub National Park Forty Mile Scrub is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 224 km drive southwest of Cairns. Ancient volcanic streams, grass forests, springs, streams, and a preserved isolated pocket of semi-evergreen vines are just some of the conten ...

. Other activities in the area include gem

fossicking In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, fossicking is prospecting, especially when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New ...

Gallery

Image:Bedrock Village Caravan Park, Mount Surprise, Queensland Australia.jpg, Bedrock Village Caravan Park Image:Elizabeth Creek, Mount Surprise, Queensland Australia.jpg, Elizabeth Creek behind Bedrock Village Image:Bottle Tree in Undara Volcanic National Park.jpg, A '' Brachychiton australis'' (Broad-leaved bottle tree) in Undara Volcanic National Park

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Etheridge Localities in Queensland