St George is a prosperous little town of 3,000 people on the plains of inland southern Queensland. The town sits on the banks of the Balonne River 500km west of Brisbane. The most direct way to get here is by plane to St George Airport, which is situated almost in the town itself.
St George was founded in 1862 and so named because it was on St George’s Day 1846 when Sir Thomas Mitchell crossed the Balonne River and established a camp here.
St George has grown slowly since then, primarily owing to a shortage of water. However, the building of the Beardmore Dam in 1967 greatly helped irrigation efforts.
Today this town, typified by wide streets and low-density housing with large gardens, is the administrative centre of Balonne Shire and an important service town for the wheat, sheep and cotton farmers who are central to the region’s prosperity.
Among the town’s attractions is a small museum of delicately carved emu eggs called The Unique Egg and the Riversands Winery, which uses local grapes to produce white and red wines.
