List of sugar mills in Queensland

The sugar industry is an important industry in Australia valued at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion per annum, much of which is generated through export. Requiring a hot climate and plenty of water, sugar cane is predominantly grown in Queensland with some in northern New South Wales. Over 4000 sugar cane farms produce 32-35 million tonnes of sugar cane each year, from which 4-4.5 million tonnes of raw sugar is extracted at sugar cane mills. At 2011, there were 24 sugar mills in Australia, ranging from Mossman in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales. Mackay Region is known for its 5 locally owned mills. They altogether produce enough sugar to support Central Queensland and Northern Queensland. They range from Racecourse Sugar Mill, Farleigh Mill, Marian Mill, Proserpine Mill and Sarina Sugar Shed.^[1]

This is a list of some of the sugar cane mills in Queensland, ordered from north to south.

Sugar mills in Queensland

	Name	Location	Local government area	Crush capacity [million tonnes cane per year]	Notes	Coordinates
	Mossman Central Mill	Mossman	Shire of Douglas	1.1[2]	Operated by Mackay Sugar	16°27′31″S 145°22′42″E / 16.4586°S 145.3782°E
	Mulgrave Sugar Mill	Gordonvale	Cairns Region		Mulgrave Sugar Mill commenced operations in 1896. It is operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group.[3][4]	17°05′34″S 145°47′20″E / 17.0929°S 145.7889°E
	Tableland Sugar Mill	Arriga	Shire of Mareeba	0.7[3]	The mill is the newest in Australia having been opened in 1998 by Bundaberg Sugar. It is currently operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group.	17°07′11″S 145°20′43″E / 17.1197°S 145.3453°E
	South Johnstone Sugar Mill	South Johnstone	Cassowary Coast Region		Operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group.[3]	17°36′21″S 145°59′27″E / 17.6057°S 145.9909°E
	Tully Sugar Mill	Tully	Cassowary Coast Region		Operated by Tully Sugar, a subsidiary of COFCO.[5]	17°56′13″S 145°55′36″E / 17.9370°S 145.9267°E
	Macnade Sugar Mill	Macnade	Shire of Hinchinbrook	1.82[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia a subsidiary of Wilmar International.	18°35′18″S 146°15′32″E / 18.5883°S 146.2589°E
	Victoria Sugar Mill	Victoria Plantation	Shire of Hinchinbrook	3.74[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia	18°39′01″S 146°12′08″E / 18.6504°S 146.2023°E
	Invicta Sugar Mill	Giru	Shire of Burdekin	3.67[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia.	19°31′01″S 147°06′21″E / 19.5169°S 147.1058°E
	Kalamia Sugar Mill	Brandon	Shire of Burdekin	1.18[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia.	19°31′28″S 147°24′59″E / 19.5244°S 147.4163°E
	Pioneer Sugar Mill	Brandon	Shire of Burdekin	2.16[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia.	19°33′29″S 147°19′52″E / 19.5581°S 147.3310°E
	Inkerman Sugar Mill	Home Hill	Shire of Burdekin	2.07[6][7]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. Maximum output 2.07 million tonnes in 2011.[6]	19°38′38″S 147°24′03″E / 19.6438°S 147.4007°E
	Proserpine Sugar Mill	Proserpine	Whitsunday Region	2.13[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia.	20°23′55″S 148°34′49″E / 20.3986°S 148.5802°E
	Farleigh Sugar Mill	Farleigh	Mackay Region	1.7[2]	Owned by Mackay Sugar	21°05′59″S 149°06′01″E / 21.0996°S 149.1004°E
	Pleystowe Sugar Mill	Pleystowe	Mackay Region		No longer operational as a mill but used by Mackay Sugar for shared services in support of its other mills.[2]	21°08′35″S 149°02′21″E / 21.1430°S 149.0392°E
	Marian Sugar Mill	Marian	Mackay Region	2.60[2]	Owned by Mackay Sugar	21°08′42″S 148°56′19″E / 21.1449°S 148.9385°E
	Racecourse Sugar Mill	Racecourse	Mackay Region	1.70[2]	Owned by Mackay Sugar. Also is one of the largest sugar refineries in Australia. Known for its capabilities for crushing 1.7 million tonnes of cane per year	21°09′50″S 149°08′05″E / 21.1640°S 149.1348°E
	Plane Creek Sugar Mill	Sarina	Mackay Region	1.76[6]	Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia.	21°25′40″S 149°12′57″E / 21.4278°S 149.2159°E
	Millaquin Sugar Mill	Bundaberg North	Bundaberg Region		Operated by Bundaberg Sugar [8]	24°51′33″S 152°21′10″E / 24.8591°S 152.3528°E
	Bingera Sugar Mill	South Kolan	Bundaberg Region		Operated by Bundaberg Sugar [8]	24°55′44″S 152°11′59″E / 24.9290°S 152.1998°E
	Isis Central Sugar Mill	Isis Central	Bundaberg Region	1.40	The mill commenced operation in 1879 and remains a locally-owned company.[9][10]	25°11′43″S 152°12′32″E / 25.1954°S 152.2088°E
	Maryborough Sugar Mill	Maryborough	Fraser Coast Region	0.8[3]	Operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. The mill crushes 0.7-0.8 million tonnes per year.[11]	25°32′52″S 152°43′02″E / 25.5479°S 152.7172°E
	Rocky Point Sugar Mill	Steiglitz & Woongoolba	City of Gold Coast		Established in 1879, Rocky Point Mill is the only privately owned mill in Australia, operated by the Heck family over 5 generations.[12][13]	27°44′07″S 153°19′36″E / 27.7352°S 153.3267°E

The sugar mills in northern New South Wales are located in Broadwater, Condong, and Harwood Island.^[14]

Former sugar mills in Queensland

Poor roads and limited transport options meant that there were once many local sugar mills in Queensland. With improved transport options, many of these smaller mills closed and only the larger more economic mills remain. This list is likely to be incomplete as many mills were small and operated only for a short period leaving few records.

Former sugar mills in Queensland

	Name	Location	Local government area	Crush capacity [million tonnes cane per year]	Notes	Coordinates (may be approximate)
	Hop Wah Pioneer Sugar Mill	Mulgrave Road, Woree [15]	Cairns Region		First sugar mill in North Queensland, opened in August 1881, and initially owned and operated by the Hop Wah Company of Chinese investors and managed by Andrew Leon [16]
	Hambledon Sugar Mills		Cairns Region
	Gairloch Sugar Mill	Ingham	Shire of Hinchinbrook
	Hamleigh Sugar Mill	Ingham	Shire of Hinchinbrook
	Ripple Creek Sugar Mill	Macknade	Shire of Hinchinbrook		[17]
	Macknade Sugar Mill	Ingham
	Habana Sugar Mill	Habana	Mackay Region		The Habana mill operated from 1883 to 1901.[18][19]	21°02′30″S 149°06′40″E / 21.0417°S 149.1111°E (approx)
	Richmond Sugar Mill	Richmond	Mackay Region		1881 - 1895[20]	21°04′54″S 149°08′45″E / 21.0816°S 149.1458°E
	Homebush Sugar Mill	Homebush	Mackay Region		1883 - 1922[21]	21°16′17″S 149°02′51″E / 21.2713°S 149.0475°E (Homebush)
	Te Kowai Sugar Mill	Mackay	Mackay Region
	Palms Sugar Mill	Palms	Mackay Region		Palms was the last of the plantation mills in the Mackay district, closing in 1924.[18]
	Oakwood Sugar Mill	Bundaberg	Bundaberg Region
	Doolbi Sugar Mill	Doolbi	Bundaberg Region
	Pemberton Sugar Mill		Bundaberg Region
	Invicta Sugar Mill		Bundaberg Region		There is also an Invicta mill in Giru
	Qunaba Sugar Mill		Bundaberg Region
	North Isis Sugar Mill		Bundaberg Region
	Sharon Sugar Mill		Bundaberg Region
	Windermere Sugar Mill		Bundaberg Region
	Moreton Central Mill	Nambour	Sunshine Coast Region
		St Helena Island

References

1. "Sugarcane Industry | Queensland Farmers Federation". www.qff.org.au. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
2. "Our Mills". www.mkysugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
3. "Msf Sugar". www.msfsugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
4. "Mulgrave Mill | Msf Sugar". www.msfsugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
5. "Welcome to Tully Sugar Limited". www.tullysugar.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
6. "Wilmar Sugar Mills - Our Mills". www.wilmarsugarmills.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
7. "Inkerman Sugar Mill | Biomass Producer – Bioenergy information for Australia's primary industries". biomassproducer.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
8. "Sugar Milling | Bundaberg Sugar". www.bundysugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
9. "Isis Central Sugar Mill - Home". www.isissugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
10. "Isis Central Sugar Mill - Chiders QLD.". www.isissugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
11. "Maryborough Mill | Msf Sugar". www.msfsugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
12. "Rocky Point Sugar Mill". www.heckgroup.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
13. "Introduction". www.heckgroup.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
14. "Contact". www.nswsugar.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
15. Cairns Post Limited (1931), The life of A.J. Draper, The Cairns Post, p. 25, retrieved 10 April 2016
16. "EARLY NORTH QUEENSLAND CAIRNS & HINTERLAND". Townsville Daily Bulletin LXXV (Queensland, Australia). 3 January 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 10 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Row of Street Trees (entry 602349)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
18. "Habana Tramline Causeway and Wharf Site (entry 602749)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
19. "Habana Sugar Mill, 1883-1902". www.mackayhistory.org. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
20. "Richmond Mill Ruins (entry 601281)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
21. "Homebush Sugar Mill, 1883-1922". www.mackayhistory.org. Retrieved 2015-12-30.

External links

Media related to Sugar mills in Queensland at Wikimedia Commons