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Established in 1896, the Mulgrave Central Mill continues to produce raw sugar 25 km south of Cairns as a grower co-operative, receiving cane from around 300 farms and approx. 200 suppliers. Each year during the crush season (around 22-24 weeks each year) cane is gathered from a 17,000 hectare area which produces approximately 91 tonnes of cane per hectare. This cane (about 1.3 million tonnes) is crushed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by the mill at a rate of 450 tonnes per hour. The crush produces about 160,000 tonnes of sugar annually. Due to low crops in recent seasons Mulgrave Mill has been operating on a 5 and 6 day basis. Mulgrave Mill operations contribute directly and indirectly over $106 million annually and sustains 1260 jobs in the Cairns economy. Part of the Mill's operations include the maintenance of its 232 kilometre cane railway system, which allows for cane to be hauled with no impact on local roads. Mulgrave Mill generates all of the power required by the crush in addition to exporting electricity to the State grid. The following pages describe the history of the Mulgrave Central Mill... | |