Muttaburra Qld then and now

[B.S.F.]

I believe that is the same building across the street. Probably early 50s and about 2013/14. Very sad.

[p38arover]

Depressing how country towns have gone.

Looking at the cars, there are quite a few late Fifties or Sixties models. There are at least two FJ Holdens in the foreground so that makes the pic no earlier than 1953/54.

I think I can see a Ford Custom like my Grandfather owned in the early Sixties. Also there might be some Humbers like the one Dad owned. These point to some in the area being moneyed - possibly graziers?

[Pickles2]

Same with many small Victorian country towns. Perhaps most are not as far gone as that,.......yet, but in many, 90% & more & sometimes all the shops are closed, so one can imagine that the situation you have shown will eventually occur.
Thanks for the images, Pickles.
(Does anyone have any similar "before & after" images of other locations?)

[LandyAndy]

A bit of trivia I learnt from my boy way back when he was into dinosaurs.Muttaburra is where they discovered a dinosaur,the muttaburrasaurus.
Andrew

[JDNSW]

In the fifties and sixties, large areas of country Australia were very prosperous "on the sheep's back". Since then the falling wool price and ever increasing mechaniusation has seen most jobs in these areas disappear. The other thing that has happened is that with better roads and communications, the remaining jobs have moved to the larger centres (in this case Longreach).

John

[bob10]

[QUOTE=Pickles2;24701
(Does anyone have any similar "before & after" images of other locations?)[/QUOTE]


Not exactly before and after, but anyone coming from the West may find family history on this site. Especially in the old telephone directories.

Outback Family History | Home (http://www.outbackfamilyhistory.com.au/)

[bob10]

Muttaburra's not dead yet. It is very quiet, though.

Muttaburra - Destination Information - Queensland (http://www.queensland.com/destination%20information/Muttaburra)

[130man]

We had our lunch in Muttaburra last year on our way south from the Dinosaur Triangle trip. One van in the caravan park and the lady in the shop was inordinately pleased to have a customer when I went in to buy some icecreams. Very quiet would be a fair assessment. Two brolgas walking down the main street were pretty much the highlight as well as the somewhat rusty dinosaur sculpture. Cheers, 130man.

[bob10]

We had our lunch in Muttaburra last year on our way south from the Dinosaur Triangle trip. One van in the caravan park and the lady in the shop was inordinately pleased to have a customer when I went in to buy some icecreams. Very quiet would be a fair assessment. Two brolgas walking down the main street were pretty much the highlight as well as the somewhat rusty dinosaur sculpture. Cheers, 130man.

They rely very much on bus tours. Probably the only ones in the area hoping they don't get too much rain.

[B.S.F.]

I took this photo in 2013 just outside Muttaburra. This used to be good grazing country.

[ramblingboy42]

Looks like the same Land Rover in the foreground of the first pic.

[V8Ian]

Looks like the same Land Rover in the foreground of the first pic.
Must be broken down. ;)

[B.S.F.]

Funny you should say that. The reason I stopped there was because I heard this strange noise which I thought came from the car, however it turned out to be the creaking windmill.

[Bearman]

Funny you should say that. The reason I stopped there was because I heard this strange noise which I thought came from the car, however it turned out to be the creaking windmill.

That is a big fan on that mill!!!

[p38arover]

Looks like the same Land Rover in the foreground of the first pic.

First is a shortie, second is a long 'un. Different canopies, too.

[J RAD]

A bit of trivia I learnt from my boy way back when he was into dinosaurs.Muttaburra is where they discovered a dinosaur,the muttaburrasaurus.
Andrew

Very true. There is a big shed in town that holds a full skeletal reconstruction of the Muttaburrasarus.

[bob10]

That is a big fan on that mill!!!

Assuming it is a Southern Cross windmill, they come in 6,8,10,12, and 14 feet sizes. My memory is just about every mill out there was Southern Cross, as a matter of fact, I'm not aware of other brands. Curious to find out. Southern cross mills is a Toowoomba foundry success story.

https://www.pumpindustry.com.au/southern-cross-australias-first-pump-manufacturer/5868/

[B.S.F.]

The only other common brand I've come across is Comet. Comet Windmills (http://www.cometwindmills.com.au/)

[bob10]

The only other common brand I've come across is Comet. Comet Windmills (http://www.cometwindmills.com.au/)

Looking at the size, and the shape of the tail, you would almost have to say it's a Comet.Been around for 130 years, made in Rockhampton. Comet mills can be 35 feet in diameter. Learn something new each day. Thanks for that.

http://www.cometwindmills.com.au/documents/CometWindmillsBrochure.pdf

[JDNSW]

....... Southern cross mills is a Toowoomba foundry success story.
....

Glossed over in the link is the way the company was almost totally destroyed in the 1990s when it was controlled by trained accountants rather than engineers.

The phrase "was acquired by" covers a world of heartbreak and disaster, with, for example, a century's stock of spare parts being sold for scrap.

John

[bob10]

Glossed over in the link is the way the company was almost totally destroyed in the 1990s when it was controlled by trained accountants rather than engineers.

The phrase "was acquired by" covers a world of heartbreak and disaster, with, for example, a century's stock of spare parts being sold for scrap.

John

Sometimes it's the only way to move forward. Often hard choices have to be made, sell the 100 year stock, or shut down the company. Difficult decisions quite often must be made. Not necessarily understood, but still must be made.

[JDNSW]

Effectively, the company was shut down, and the assets (including the brand) were sold by the liquidators in a fire sale, with even the design assets being acquired for almost nothing. This resulted from the decision to borrow heavily and unwisely followed by a large rise in interest rates, after a hundred years of cautious and successful management. (See "Southern Cross Engines", Rob Laurent, ISBN 0-958921-0-3, Brisbane, 2nd Edn. 2004, 2009)

John

[bob10]

Big business never stands still. It's sad, but there would be very few large Australian companies without some foreign ownership. Even in the early days, Southern cross changed its identity several times. Have to admit, I've learned more about Southern cross in the last few days than I knew before.




"Southern Cross was acquired by Tyco Flow Control Pacific in late 1999, then in 2002, Tyco relocated Southern Cross to a new world-class manufacturing facility at Withcott near Toowoomba, Queensland. In October 2012, Pentair Water and Tyco Flow merged to become a united business called Pentair.

Pentair also owns the iconic pump brand Onga which was established in 1967 by Don Davey in Tooronga Victoria and starting out as a manufacturer of farm and domestic pumps. Onga remained as a privately owned enterprise until 1986 when it was purchased by Sta-Rite USA. (Sta-Rite was owned by Wicor, part of the Wisconsin Energy Group) It was at this time Sta-Rite moved to their Notting Hill premises and ?New Zealand? was formed.

In August 2004, Pentair Water Technologies sold off their Tool Division an acquired WICOR's (part of the Wisconsin Energy Group) Pump Division and creating Pentair Water. In October 2012, as a result of the Pentair merger, Pentair Onga moved to their new purpose-built manufacturing plant at Dandenong South. The new 6,800sqm facility incorporating the manufacturing, spare parts and research and development projects."

[JDNSW]

Big business never stands still. It's sad, but there would be very few large Australian companies without some foreign ownership. Even in the early days, Southern cross changed its identity several times. Have to admit, I've learned more about Southern cross in the last few days than I knew before.


......

Toowoomba Foundry, the owner of the Southern Cross brand was a family company from the 1870s to the 1980s, but as you point out, its manufacturing focus changed over the years - pumps, steam engines, kerosine engines, windmills, locomotives, diesel engines, munitions, machine tools and other products!

To some extent its changes in the 90s (and the loss of family control) were simply the effects of globalisation, but perhaps even more due to, and certainly precipitated by, poor management.

John

[whlump]

Very true. There is a big shed in town that holds a full skeletal reconstruction of the Muttaburrasarus.

Also a display at Hughendon with full skeleton on show

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Pickles2]

Toowoomba Foundry, the owner of the Southern Cross brand was a family company from the 1870s to the 1980s, but as you point out, its manufacturing focus changed over the years - pumps, steam engines, kerosine engines, windmills, locomotives, diesel engines, munitions, machine tools and other products!

To some extent its changes in the 90s (and the loss of family control) were simply the effects of globalisation, but perhaps even more due to, and certainly precipitated by, poor management.

JohnWhen I lived in Toowoomba in the 60s, the Foundry was a well known, & big, "part" of Toowoomba. It was a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure that some the boys from my year got apprenticeships there.
In response to this thread I just did a check & it appears that the Foundry closed down in 2012?
Pickles.