Above: Panorama view 2002; all that remains of the Wallaville Mill. Lynn Zelmer image.
Tramline construction in the Bundaberg area, 2008.
Over the years there have likely been several hundred mills in
Queensland alone if one counts both 'juice' and regular mills. Some
lasted a few months, others are still going strong after more than a
century of service to their communities.
As well, there are bulk sugar terminals at Cairns, Mourilyan, Lucinda, Townsville, Mackay, Bundaberg and Brisbane to transport bulk sugar to refineries in the capital cities and overseas.
The lists at the left include Queensland, NSW, and WA mills, some of which are no longer in existence. Most of the mills still have some form of railway delivering cut cane to the mill and/or transporting sugar and other milling products.
The 2003 Australian Sugar Cane Annual listed 26 mills in Queensland (Tablelands, Mossman, Mulgrave, Babinda, Mourilyan, South Johnstone, Tully, Victoria, Macknade, Invicta, Pioneer, Kalamia, Inkerman, Proserpine, Farleigh, Marian, Pleystowe, Racecourse, Plane Creek, Fairymead, Millaquin, Bingera, Isis, Maryborough, Moreton, Rocky Point)... however, Moreton and Fairymead mills subsequently closed. Some of the Mackay district mills had previously been mothballed but all crushed in 2004 [*], and Babinda MIll closed in 2011 (see current mill list at left).
Route kilometres are a bit harder to provide, however, the Sugar Research Institute indicated "Queensland sugar mill owners own, operate and maintain 4100 km of narrow gauge (610 mm) railway...." [**] This figure does not take into account recent mill closures and the removal of their tracks or new track being built for mill interconnection. A small amount of cane is also carried on Queensland Rail tracks.
[*] Australian Sugar Cane Annual 2003. Toowoomba: Australian Sugarcane.
[**] www.sri.org.au/sugarindustry1.html, accessed 26 Jul 04.
last updated: 20/02/12.