Situated on the flatlands beyond the Great Dividing Range, St George is located some 509 km from Brisbane via Dalby, and is some 201 m above sea-level with a population of 3800 souls.
 | St George- Aboriginal History |
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Warrant Officer Leonard Victor Waters - who was a descendant of the original traditional owners of the St George region was the only known Aboriginal fighter pilot to serve in World War II - WO Waters is remembered on a pilots' memorial alongside the Balonne River. Still in existance, 37 km along the road to Dalby are the Rock Wells, pounded out by hand thousands of years ago by the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land.
The naming of St George is depiced on a plaque at Jack Taylor Weir: '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.' In 1862 the town was gazetted and by 1889, St George had a post office, a school a Catholic church and and Anglican church. With a polulation of 900 souls, St George became a municipality in 1902. In 1967 the Beardmore Dam was built to enable irregation and development of the cotton and horticultural industries. The early cotton crops failed due to pests but persistence has made the St. George area of of Australia's major cotton producing regions thanks to irregation and technology.
Located on the Balonne River, with wide streets, today St George is a country town and service centre for the surrounding Balonne Shire; rural industries include cotton, wheat, sheep, beef, and ruit and vegetables. The historic buildings in St George include the original post office building 1872, with original shingles on the window awnings; the first schol house 1873, the first Catholic Church 1874, and the original Anglican Church 1889 which is now the church hall.
The Unique Egg is a collection of hand-carved emu eggs, illuminated from within and created in St George over 40 years. The St George Heritage Centre includes a working blacksmith operation, printing press, local Aboriginal artefacts, and the old gaol and courthouse. The Jack Taylor Weir on the Balonne river. Nearby Rosehill Aviaries Wildlife Park claims the most complete collection of Australian parrots.
At Riversands Vineyard white, red and fortified wines can be tasted at the Cellar Door on the banks of the Blonne River, just 2 km from St George, along with cheese platters, cakes and coffee, preserves and other items. Tours of the Zappia Brothers working table grape farm are available 2 km north of St George on the Carnarvon Highway in the picking season December to January.
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