Springsure State School

Springsure State School was among the earliest to be founded in Queensland, as is shown by its number 102. On 23 June 1869, a public meeting was called for the purpose of approaching the Government with a view to the establishment of a state school. A tender of £477 was accepted on 25 June and the building was ready for opening in January, 1870 with its actual opening day being 14 March 1870.

The first head teacher was John Henry Nicholson, son of an eminent scholar, John Nicholson, who was Ludwig Leichhardt’s first English friend. It is appropriate that the two school sporting houses are named Leichhardt (gold) and Mitchell (green); both explorers contributing significantly to the opening up of this productive area of Central Queensland.

Mr Nicholson was assisted by a pupil teacher, Jane Wagner. The number of children enrolled on 1 January 1871 was 98 with an average daily attendance of 72. The major changes to the school in the intervening period have been the addition of more classroom blocks, the addition of the secondary department in 1964 and a new Resource Centre which opened in 2012.

Springsure State School has always held a strong and cherished link within the wider community, with many of our students being either fifth or sixth generation learners at our school. In fact, we have some students who are the seventh generation of the family to enrol at this school.

Springsure was settled in the 1850s after being explored by Ludwig Leichhardt and his favourable reports which encouraged settlers to move there. As local folklore has it, the town derived its name from the permanent springs in the creek and gullies at the time of settlement in the area – there are springs here, to be sure! The town developed primarily from the early wagon teams camping here on their way from Rockhampton to the Gulf and Barcoo country.

Today, Springsure is a pastoral settlement serving cattle farms as well as sunflower, sorghum, wheat and chickpea plantations. In recent years, Springsure has become the hub for several coal mines including the Minerva Mine and the Rolleston Mine. These mines are also contributing to Springsure’s economic development.