A couple of hours drive west from my home in Brisbane, is a place called Stanthorpe up on the Great Dividing Range. The town has an abattoir and according to its operator John Allen, as reported by James Nason at Farm Online, it closed on Monday because temperatures dropped to -20 C and broke water pipes [1].
I didn’t think it got that cold in Queensland! Can we believe John Allen?
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[1] Breaking Rural News : LIVESTOCK, Meatworks freezes as mercury hits -20c in Stanthrope, Qld
By JAMES NASON – Australia, Wednesday, 12 July 2006, http://www.farmonline.com.au/news_daily.asp?ag_id=35703
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
I come from Stanthorpe – due to the lay of the land there is a lot of temperature variability- I could believe that it may get that cold in cold spot (I think the abattoir is a notorious cold spot).
In the past farmers have used the micro-climates to their advantage by finding a ‘warm’ spot and putting a small orchard. The trees in the warm spot fruit earlier in the season so you can pick earlier and could better prices at the market. But now due to cold storage etc there is little incentive to bring on the fruit early so alot of these small orchards are no longer being used.
Ironically, Macca, on ABC Radio on Sunday morning had a song with the chorus going, “the monkey sings soprano in Stanthorpe in July”.
I was camping on a cattle property in Stanthorpe in late June 1991 – our thermomemter went to -12 at 4.30 am.
Only coffee and bundy kept us alive………
Information from David:
“The temperatures for Stanthorpe are available at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW4112.latest.shtml . The air temperature did not drop to -20C, but a ground temperature in the range of -10 to -15C is not out of the question given the air minimum of -8.9.
This region has a long history of cold temperatures with the current Queensland record low for July being -10.6 at the Hermitage on 12 July 1965 (this site is a little northeast of Stanthorpe). Stanthorpe has previously seen -10.6 (in June) and has previously recorded -9.1 and -9.4 in July.”
Thanks for the information. I had no idea it could get so cold.
I used to work in Stanthorpe and district in the late 1960s and certainly recollect frozen creeks and even occasional snow!
Yep the -20 was the ground temperature.
I’ve just heard Macca singing ‘Monkey Sings Soprano’ this morning (27 Aug). Can anyone tell me where I can get a copy of the lyrics, please?
My wife and I built the Girraween Country Inn (22km south of Stanthorpe) some twelve years ago. While it was being built the temperature on the ground dropped to -14. Two carpenters walked off the job, never to return.
really it does it so cold i left my water bottle out side a nite it frose and it also made frost on the chimley top with the fire on !!!
I think I’m two years late to help, but “The Monkeys Sing Soprano” is a song by Penny Davies and Roger Ilott, two amazing people I have been lucky enough to know since I was born. Beryl, you may be able to find the lyrics doing a search on them or their recording label, ‘Restless’.
I found this page while I was searching the net for pictures of this weeks snow in Stanthorpe. I lived there for 4 years and met my husband there who worked at the Abattior. Pipes regularly burst during winter all around town, including our place. For weeks during winter you’d wake to no water because the pipes were frozen. The pressure quite often caused the pipes to burst… So if you’re a plumber, Stanthorpe is a great place to get work during the winter!
I really miss it!!