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The district's first sugar cane was produced at Gairloch Mill in 1872 by the Mackenzie Brothers. Another mill was soon built at Bemerside in 1873, by Haigh and Miles. The continual expansion of the industry soon led to the development of a third sugar mill, at Macknade, this being built by A. Neame and the Waller Brothers. This mill produced high quality sugar, and won first prize at the Paris Exhibition in 1878. The Macknade Mill was subsequently purchased in 1896 by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (now known as CSR Limited), and the present day mill at Macknade stands on the site of the original mill. 
Early photograph of Victoria Mill
| In 1882, another mill was built by Wood Brothers and RM Boyd at Ripple Creek. It was at this time that the Colonial Sugar Refining Company established Victoria Mill, bringing standards and cane growing activities to the district on a scale not previously seen in the North. Cane was first crushed at Victoria Mill in 1883 - a total of 3,823 tons. |
| Although cane cutting has always been physically demanding, the conditions at this time in Ingham's history were appalling when compared with standards enjoyed from the early 1900’s until the cutting of cane by hand ceased in the mid 1960’s. Every stalk was cut and loaded to the requirements of the cane inspectors and these physical demands were compounded by ridiculous standards of topping in early years. A number of Kanakas (labourers from Melanesian Islands), Chinese and Malays were employed to work in the cane fields as a source of cheap labour. | 
Kanakas working sugar cane fields in the Hinchinbrook region - late 1800's
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This ceased however, with the introduction of the "White Australia Policy". In 1892, the Government of the day wanted to deport all Kanakas immediately, however strong lobbying by Alfred Cowley intervened, and sugar plantations were able to retain the cane cutters and labourers for the next ten years. In 1907, the Commonwealth Government passed legislation to expire all indentured service, and Kanakas and their families were deported back to their island homes. 
Early Italian Canecutters
| The 1890s saw the first wave of Italian immigrants arrive in the Hinchinbrook district. The first group of Italian migrants arrived in Townsville in 1891 and, after having settled in the Ingham district, most sent home for family and friends. With the deporting of the indentured Kanaka labourers, more immigrants, particularly from northern Italy, were encouraged to come to the northern cane fields as canecutters. Conditions for the canecutters improved greatly, and workers' salaries increased to a rate much higher than that which the indentured Kanakas had experienced. The pattern of Italian immigration was established, and to this day, more than half the population of the Hinchinbrook Shire are of Italian descent. |
By 1910, eight sugar plantations and six mills had been established in the Ingham area. It was also in this year that CSR purchased the Ripple Creek Plantation. Today, Victoria Mill and Macknade Mill are the only two surviving mills, and both are still owned and operated by CSR Limited. In 1931, the population of the Hinchinbrook Shire was recorded as approximately 8,500. The sugar industry - much like the community - was still expanding and in 1931, the modern, efficient mills at Victoria and Macknade were capable of treating around 10,000 tons of cane per week. In that year, the record for the quantity of cane crushed in one season was held by Victoria Mill (right). Following World War II, major expansions occurred in the industry, particularly between the years of 1951 and 1953, between 1963 and 1965, in 1974 and from 1989 to 1995. The combined crushing figure for both Victoria and Macknade Mill for the 1970 season stands in excess of 2,000,000 tons, with Victoria Mill at the time being the largest sugar mill in the Southern Hemisphere.
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