St George, QLD
St George is a pleasant rural service centre which is located on the Balonne River with the vast flatlands of the Darling Downs stretching beyond the Great Dividing Range. The town provides services to the surrounding wheat, sheep and cotton farmers, and, in recent times, fruits, grapes, vegetables and beef have enriched the local economy. It is a town located idyllically beside the river and, as Sir Thomas Mitchell wrote about his arrival on the banks of the river on 12 April, 1846: “At an early hour we soon came upon the river where it formed a noble reach of water. The breadth was uniform, and a vast body of water was a most cheery sight. The banks were 120 yards apart; the course, in general, was very straight, contributing much to the perfection of the scenery upon it. At one turn, denuded rocks appeared in its bed, consisting of ironstone in a whitish cement of matrix, which might have been decomposed felspar. I at length arrived at a natural bridge of the same sort of rock, affording easy and permanent access to the opposite bank, and at once selected the spot for a depot camp, which we established in a fine position, commanding long vistas up and down the river. It was, in fact, a tete-du-pont overlooking the rocky passage which connected with the grass on both sides.”
Location
St George is located 557 km west of Brisbane via Goondiwindi or 495 km via Toowoomba. It is 201 m above sea-level.
Origin of Name
Sir Thomas Mitchell named the town. A plaque outside town explains: 'At this spot on St Georges Day - April 23 1846 - Sir Thomas Mitchell crossed the Balonne and established a camp calling the crossing St Georges Bridge. This was the origin of the town St George.'
To Claim a Find
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Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.