Mount Surprise, Queensland

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Mount Surprise
Queensland

Population:

162 ^[1]

Postcode:

4871

Elevation:

453 m (1,486 ft) ^[2]

Location:

1722 km (1070 mi) NW of Brisbane
285 km (177 mi) SW of Cairns
393 km (244 mi) E of Normanton
96 km (60 mi) E of Georgetown

LGA:

Etheridge Shire Council

State District:

Charters Towers

Federal Division:

Kennedy

Mean Max Temp	Mean Min Temp	Rainfall
31.1 °C ^{88 °F}	16.1 °C ^{61 °F}	790.3 mm ^{31.1 in}

Mount Surprise is a town in the Gulf Savannah, Far North Queensland, Australia. The town is located in the Etheridge Shire Local Government Area, 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. At the 2006 census, Mount Surprise and the surrounding area had a population of 162.^[1]

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 railway reached Mount Surprise.^[3]

The town today is little more than a pub, two cafes and a petrol station. The town also has a rail service; The Savannahlander, with a weekly service to Einasleigh and Forsayth to the west and return to Cairns in the east. The town is nearby the Undara Volcanic National Park and Forty Mile Scrub National Park. Other activities in the area include gem fossicking and hot springs at nearby Tallaroo Station.^[3]