Southern Cross Windmill
Since 1903 Toowoomba Foundry and its successors have manufactured about 250,000 of these iconic wind pumps.
Toowoomba is a large Queensland rural city of over 90,000 people perched on the escarpment of the Great Dividing Range 125 km West of Brisbane. The city is central to a large fanning area and, since 1871, has been the home of an important engineering enterprise. Most Australians know the enterprise by its brand name, Southern Cross, but generations of Toowoomba citizens know it as Toowoomba Foundry.
Apart from the period 1884-1914 private companies controlled by the Griffiths family have owned the Foundry. In 1987 some shares in the private company, Southern Cross Corporation (SCC), were sold and by 1988 SCC was a subsidiary of Adsteam. In 1992 SCC was officially split into two, with the Toowoomba Foundry evolving to become Toowoomba Metal Technologies in 2001, and Southern Cross Machinery evolving to become the Southern Cross business of the Flow Control Division of the US multi-national Tyco.
The most visible legacy of the Griffiths, Toowoomba Foundry, TMT and Tyco Southern Cross are the hundreds of thousands of Southern Cross windmills scattered across Australia, and overseas.
The ceremony was a highlight of the 2003 National Engineering Heritage Conference.
Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
| Marker Type | Heritage Engineering Marker (HEM) |
| Award Date | September 2003 |
| Heritage Significance | |
| Nomination Document | Available here. |
| Ceremony Booklet Ceremony Report |
Not Available |
| Plaque/Interpretation Panel Image | Not Available |
