We had not been to Springsure before and know nothing about it. We were only there because I had seen that the Minerva NP was on its doorstep. Literally. We were disappointed that we could not make it to the top of Virgin Rock. But it really is a magnificent cliff face looking down on the town. Especially when the cliff face is lit up at night.
We arrived in the area on 3 Jun 2024 and left on 5 June, heading to Emerald.
Getting There
Roma to Springsure is about 365km, but it felt like a lot more.
Roma > Injune (91km) > Rolleston (203km) > Springsure (71km) ~ 365km
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
History
First Nations
Typically at this point of my posts I report that: I could not find much significant information about the First Nations people of this area. But in this case I found some excellent information panels about the first Nations people in a park in Springsure. Lots of good information.
This area is Kairi tribal country, sometimes called Kairi Kairi country. Kairi means the sun in the aboriginal language. To read about these people, and particularly their use of plants for food and medicines, click here.
Colonial
Ludwig Leichhardt was the first British to explore the area between 1844 and 1845. His favourable reports attracted settlers to the area. The town takes its name from a pastoral run which was first named in 1861. The town was surveyed by Charles Frederick Gregory in August 1863.
The history of British settlement can be read here.
This included the infamous Cullin-la-ringo massacre and retaliations in relation to this.
Today Springsure is described as a pleasant rural service centre nestled below the Capricorn Highlands with the local landmark Mount Zamia looming above the town, of which Virgin Rock is the most prominent feature. The area around Springsure has a rich black clay soil which, in recent times, due to extensive irrigation, has produced a range of crops including sunflowers, sorghum, wheat and chickpeas. The area is also known for its cattle.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Springsure had a population of 950 people.
Day 1 – Monday 3 June 2024 – To Springsure
It is a bumpy old ride as we head north. Basically it is a good bitumen road but with patches of very bouncy road with no warning. It would be OK with just the car, but with a van on the back it can be a worry. So we slow down to around 90km/hr. Like riding a rocking horse for around 50% of the distance.
The landscape is interesting – on the right hand side is dead flat agricultural lands. But to the left is a horizon of hills a good distance away, with agricultural lands in between. Approaching the turnoff to Carnarvon Gorge the rock outcrops are much closer and we can see the rock cliffs faces. Fascinating country.
We are at the van park next to the roadhouse. The woman in the roadhouse had taken us out and showed us a row of van sites. “Take any one of those,” she says.
The sites are road base for the van, next to a concrete slab for our awning. Facilities are OK but very basic/old. There are about a dozen sites and they were full for the nights we were there. Most use this as an oversight stay. We made a mess at reversing into our site – but that is not unusual.
After setting up we went to the tourist information office and got some brochures on Minerva Hills NP. The woman in the office emphasised the need for only 4WD vehicles to go into the NP. But she did not look as sure of herself as she sounded. There is a museum in the building and we looked through that. They had some really interesting old stuff – a “bottling plant” that bottled cordial in the 1930s from memory). This was a major employer back in the day. And a couple of things exactly the same as my parents used to use. And who can forget having a milkshake in those huge aluminium cups – they’ve never tasted the same since have they?
I went for a walk around town. In the park, near the tourist information office, I came across a number of informations panels telling the story of the local First Nations people – click here.
The Virgin Rock presents a dramatic picture. At times it is said to look like the virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Sometimes I think I see it. The only thing I can see is the little bit in the cavern – perhaps a mum holding a baby???
Later, just after dark was settling in, we went to a park just outside of the town to see the Virgin Rock lit up at night. It looks great. But more like a couple of leopards or hyenas having a fight.
Day 2 – Tuesday 4 June 2024 – At Springsure/Minerva
My morning walk took me around the town – not a soul around at 8am. At around 10 we drove to Minerva Hills – out on the Dawson Development Rd, then turning right onto Dendle Drive. We went past a number of horses taking in the sun.
Not far up the track we came across a tiger snake crossing the road – a good sized scary animal. Which, as we drove very slowly past, decided to turn around to have a go at the car. If only they weren’t protected!!!
At this stage the road is a very good gravel road. Then we came to the sign: High Clearance 4WD Only and we wondered what was ahead. This is what the lady in the Information Centre stressed.
The track started to deteriorate and there were some bitumen strips to get over the main hills. The junction between the dirt and the gravel is a bit ragged.
We carried on and stopped to check out some rugged looking sections of dirt, walking them first. Although we have a 4WD (Pajero Sports), it is not fitted with off-road tyres. So we were not all that confident. If we had had the LC200 we drove around the country in, we would not have hesitated. Unfortunately the photos do not really show the road condition.
Meanwhile the views of the hills we were driving through were excellent.
At one point we decided to not proceed much further especially as someone had said that the conditions got worse closer to the top. We turned around and proceeded to Springsure lookout. The views are great. All my fault… I can tackle most roads in 4WD mode, and going down the slope would’ve been fine, but I wouldn’t have liked to get caught out with getting out again. And heavens knows how someone could’ve pulled us out. I could picture us being caught in Springsure for months on end.
On the way back down we came to a car that was clearly not a 4WD – a small “town car”. We stopped and went to warn the driver that it would be impossible to drive the track in that car. It turned out that the driver was the woman who had advised us at the tourist information office. She explained that as she was advising people about access to the NP she ought to try it herself to see what it was really like.
She told us she had not got very far in when her little car began to slip backwards. She stopped and reversed back down the track very slowly. We helped her turn her car around and followed her out. Now that is what we call dedication to duty – what a good thing to do. She had rang her sister to tell her what she was going to do, and told her if she was not back in an hour then to send someone in to rescue her.
It was good to be back into town and appreciate the very striking rock faces again.
When we returned to the van park, there were 3 fellows backing into the site next to us and setting up. We got chatting – they’d just been to the Big Red Bash (can’t remember what’s it called now, as its been renamed) – they’d driven across from Birdsville and 2 of them had to be in Brisbane for return flights to NZ. Des mentioned my son Stewart used to volunteer at the BRB for years. Paul ( the tallest of them) mentioned that he used to too. I showed photos and they agreed each other looked familiar and that they had likely met there.
That evening we went to Dooleys Tavern for dinner. It was quite busy, and the food was pretty much the same as all of the pubs we have eaten at. It would be nice to get something different.
To see the photos for this post, click here
To see a video of our drive up to the National Park, click here