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| name        = Victoria Mill
| name        = Victoria Mill
| image      = VictoriaMillSept25.jpg
| image      = VictoriaMillSept25.jpg
| caption    = Victoria Mill, taken from Danger Camp Road. September 2025
| caption    = Victoria Mill, viewed from Danger Camp Road, September 2025.
| coordinates = [https://www.google.com/maps?q=-18.649978092640023,146.20096229521337 18.64997° S, 146.20096° E]
| coordinates = [https://www.google.com/maps?q=-18.649978092640023,146.20096229521337 18.64997° S, 146.20096° E]
| region      = [[Herbert & Burdekin Region|Herbert River]]
| region      = [[Herbert & Burdekin Region|Herbert River]]
| lga        = [[Hinchinbrook Shire Council]]
| lga        = [[Hinchinbrook Shire Council]]
| established = 1882 ({{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1882}} years ago)
| established = 1883 ({{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1883}} years ago)
| closed      =  
| closed      =
| owner      = [[Wilmar Sugar]]
| owner      = [[Wilmar Sugar Australia]]
| gauge      = 610 mm (2 ft)
| gauge      = 610 mm (2 ft)
| crush      = 3,000,000 tonnes (seasonal average)
| crush      = 3,000,000 tonnes (average)
}}
}}
'''Victoria Sugar Mill''' is a sugar mill located in [[Victoria Plantation]], approximately 5 kilometres east of [[Ingham]], [[Queensland]]. Established in 1883, it is one of the largest sugar mills in Australia, frequently vying with [[Invicta Mill]] for the highest crushing capacity. Currently owned by [[Wilmar Sugar Australia]], it is a key industrial hub for the Herbert River district.
'''Victoria Sugar Mill''' is a sugar mill located at [[Victoria Plantation]], approximately 3 kilometres east of [[Ingham]], [[Queensland]]. Established in 1883, it is one of the largest sugar mills in Australia and, together with [[Invicta Mill]], regularly ranks among the country's highest-throughput factories.<ref name="WilmarMills">Wilmar Sugar Australia. ''Our Mills''.</ref>
 
Victoria is one of two operating mills in the Herbert River district, together with [[Macknade Mill]]. Both are operated by [[Wilmar Sugar Australia]] and are connected by an integrated 610 mm (2 ft) gauge cane railway network.


== History ==
== History ==
=== Establishment ===
=== Establishment ===
The history of Victoria Mill begins with the expansion of the [[Colonial Sugar Refining Company]] (CSR) into North Queensland. In 1880, CSR General Manager Edward William Knox visited the Herbert River district to survey land for potential sugar production. Following the passage of the ''Sugar Refinery Act 1881'', CSR purchased 12,000 acres in the Herbert Valley.<ref name="CSR_History">CSR Limited. "Victoria Mill: A History".</ref>
The development of Victoria Mill followed the expansion of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company into North Queensland during the early 1880s.
 
In 1881 the Queensland Parliament passed the ''Colonial Sugar Refining Company's Act'', which enabled CSR to acquire land and establish operations in the Herbert River district under special legislative provisions.<ref name="CSRAct">Vidonja Balanzategui, Bronwyn. ''The Herbert River Farmers' Association: Sugar farmer associations on the periphery'', James Cook University.</ref>
 
Construction of the Victoria estate, mill and associated transport infrastructure commenced during the following period. CSR archival records contain correspondence relating to Victoria Mill from 1882.<ref name="CSRArchives">Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University. ''CSR Limited Archives – Victoria Mill and Stone River tramline''.</ref>
 
Victoria Mill commenced crushing in '''1883'''. CSR constructed and operated the mill on behalf of the associated Victoria Sugar Company, with which CSR had longstanding commercial ties.<ref name="CSRChronology">CSR Limited. ''South Pacific Enterprise: The Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited'' – historical chronology.</ref>
 
Victoria was developed on a very large scale for the period. Approximately £240,000 was spent on the plantation, mill and transport infrastructure during 1883–85. The estate initially included approximately 17 miles of railway and four locomotives for transporting cane to the factory.<ref name="QldPlaces">Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. ''Victoria Plantation'', Queensland Places.</ref>


Construction commenced in 1882, representing a massive capital undertaking of over 200,000 pounds. The mill officially began crushing in 1883 and was named after the Victoria Sugar Company, a Melbourne based associate of CSR.
Although Victoria was established principally as a vertically integrated plantation mill, CSR also purchased some cane from independent growers from its earliest years.<ref name="CSRChronology" />


=== Operational History ===
=== Plantation labour ===
During its early years, Victoria operated as a "plantation mill," supported by a single massive estate owned and managed by the company. The workforce relied heavily on indentured South Sea Islander labour. By 1892, CSR shifted its strategy away from the plantation model, subdividing the Victoria Estate into smaller farms for independent growers.
The early Victoria estate relied heavily on indentured South Sea Islander labour for clearing, planting and cultivation.


The mill underwent continuous modernisation throughout the 20th century. By the 1950s, it was the centre of a thriving community, handling a booming cane supply approaching 1 million tonnes annually. In 1976, Victoria Mill retired its last steam locomotives, becoming one of the last mills in Australia to transition fully to diesel traction.<ref name="LRRSA">Light Railway Research Society of Australia. "Sugar Cane Railways".</ref>
This reflected the broader labour system then operating throughout the Queensland sugar industry. Pacific Island labourers formed a substantial component of the workforce on the large plantation estates of the Herbert River district.<ref name="QMlabour">Queensland Museum. ''Hard Labour for Sweet Fields''.</ref>


=== Ownership ===
At the same time, independent farmers in the Herbert district began pressing for access to Victoria Mill as cane suppliers. The Herbert River Farmers' Association was established in 1882 and became an important advocate for the district's small cane growers.<ref name="CSRAct" />
For decades, Victoria Mill held the title of the largest sugar mill in Australia, until the expansion of Invicta Mill in 1999. In 2010, the landscape of the industry changed when CSR sold its sugar division (Sucrogen) to the Singapore based agribusiness [[Wilmar International]] for 1.75 billion dollars. Consequently, ownership transferred to Wilmar Sugar Australia.<ref name="WilmarSale">ABC News. "Wilmar acquires CSR sugar division". 5 July 2010.</ref>
 
=== Transition to independent growers ===
During the late nineteenth century the Queensland sugar industry progressively moved away from large company-operated plantations towards independent cane farming.
 
In '''1892''' CSR began subdividing the Victoria Estate and leasing or making land available to independent farmers.<ref name="QldPlaces" />
 
Contemporary accounts noted that Victoria Estate was being divided among farmers and predicted that the Herbert mills would ultimately cease growing their own cane and instead rely on independent suppliers.<ref name="QAJ1892">Queensland Department of Agriculture. ''Queensland Agricultural Journal'', historical notes on the Queensland sugar industry.</ref>
 
The plantation system subsequently disappeared and Victoria developed into a large central mill supplied by independent cane growers.
 
=== Expansion ===
Victoria Mill underwent repeated expansion and modernisation throughout the twentieth century.
 
Following the Second World War, increased sugar demand led to a major expansion of cane-growing land in the Herbert district, including development of the Abergowrie area.
 
As part of this expansion, Victoria's milling capacity was substantially increased during the early 1950s. The factory developed into one of Australia's largest sugar mills.
 
By the 1950s the Herbert district was approaching a one-million-tonne cane crop, and Victoria subsequently continued to expand as cane production increased.
 
For many years Victoria was regarded as Australia's largest sugar mill. Queensland Places records that it retained this position until [[Invicta Mill]] at Giru overtook it following major expansion in 1999.<ref name="QldPlaces" />
 
=== Steam to diesel ===
Victoria used steam locomotives on its cane railway for much of its history.
 
Diesel locomotives were progressively introduced during the post-war period, including Baguley-Drewry locomotives in the early 1950s and larger Clyde and E.M. Baldwin diesel-hydraulic locomotives during the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name="LRRSARoster">Light Railway Research Society of Australia. ''Australian Sugar Industry Locomotives – Victoria Mill''.</ref>
 
Despite its early adoption of diesel traction, Victoria retained several steam locomotives in commercial cane-haulage service until the end of the '''1976 crushing season'''.<ref name="Steam1976">Queensland Museum. ''Homebush turns 100''.</ref>
 
Several former Victoria steam locomotives were subsequently preserved. The Hudswell Clarke locomotive '''Homebush''', built in 1914 and transferred to Victoria after the closure of Homebush Mill near Mackay, was retained at Victoria Mill and has subsequently operated on special occasions.<ref name="Steam1976" />
 
== Ownership ==
Victoria remained associated with CSR and its successor sugar operations for more than 125 years.
 
During the late 2000s CSR reorganised its sugar and renewable-energy businesses under the name '''Sucrogen'''.
 
In July 2010 CSR agreed to sell Sucrogen to Singapore-based [[Wilmar International]] for an enterprise value of $1.75 billion. The transaction was completed in December 2010.<ref name="WilmarSale">Wilmar International. ''Acquisition of Sucrogen Limited''. 5 July 2010.</ref>
 
Sucrogen was subsequently renamed Wilmar Sugar Australia. Victoria Mill remains part of Wilmar's Australian sugar milling operations.


== Infrastructure ==
== Infrastructure ==
=== Milling ===
=== Milling ===
Victoria Mill is a powerhouse of the industry and is one of only three dual milling train factories in the Wilmar group. This configuration gives it a massive throughput capability, allowing it to process approximately 3 million tonnes of sugarcane per season.
Victoria is a '''dual-milling-train factory'''.<ref name="WilmarMills" />
 
Wilmar states that Victoria crushes an average of approximately '''3 million tonnes of sugarcane each year''' and manufactures about '''400,000 tonnes of raw sugar'''.<ref name="WilmarMills" />
 
The dual milling trains are commonly referred to operationally as the A-side and B-side mills.
 
Victoria and [[Invicta Mill]] regularly vie for the position of Australia's largest sugar mill by annual throughput.<ref name="WilmarMills" />
 
=== Cane railway ===
Victoria and [[Macknade Mill]] share an interconnected 610 mm (2 ft) gauge railway network serving the Herbert River cane-growing district.
 
Wilmar's 2025 regional figures give the combined Herbert network as approximately '''567 kilometres of cane railway''', operated with 23 locomotives and 4,059 cane bins.<ref name="HerbertFacts">Wilmar Sugar and Renewables. ''Herbert Region – At a Glance'', May 2025.</ref>


=== Tramway ===
The interconnection allows locomotives, rolling stock and cane to be transferred between Victoria and Macknade when operational requirements demand it. Railway maintenance equipment is also shared between the two mill systems.<ref name="LRRSARoster" />
The cane railway system servicing Victoria Mill is one of the most complex and extensive in Queensland. It is integrated with the network of the nearby [[Macknade Mill]], creating a combined Herbert River district network.


* '''Gauge:''' 610 mm (2 ft).
The railway serves growing districts including Victoria Plantation, Ingham, Abergowrie, Stone River, Long Pocket, Halifax, Macknade and the lower Herbert River district.
* '''Network Size:''' The combined Victoria and Macknade network comprises over 560 kilometres of permanent track.
* '''Sugar Haulage:''' Unlike most other mills that use Queensland Rail to transport product to port, Victoria and Macknade utilise their own tramway system to haul raw sugar to the [[Lucinda Bulk Sugar Terminal]]. This task is performed by locomotives hauling rakes of specialised 11 tonne bulk sugar boxes.


== Production Statistics ==
Wilmar has progressively replaced older four-tonne cane bins with larger 11-tonne units in the Herbert region.<ref name="NewBins">Wilmar Sugar Australia. ''New cane bins''. 25 June 2020.</ref>
Victoria Mill consistently ranks as one of the highest throughput mills in the country.
 
{| class="wikitable"
=== Raw sugar railway ===
! Statistic
Finished raw sugar from Victoria is transported by 610 mm gauge railway to the [[Lucinda Bulk Sugar Terminal]].
! Value
 
|-
The Herbert mills use specialised '''11-tonne bogie sugar boxes''' for this traffic.<ref name="LRRSARail">Light Railway Research Society of Australia. ''Queensland sugar cane railways today''.</ref>
| Average Annual Crush
 
| 3,000,000 tonnes
Sugar trains run from Victoria through the Herbert district to Lucinda, where the loaded boxes are transferred to the terminal's receival yard for unloading into bulk storage.
 
Victoria and Macknade are unusual among Australian sugar mills in retaining a narrow-gauge railway specifically for transport of finished raw sugar from the factory to an export terminal.
 
== Production statistics ==
Wilmar publishes Victoria's long-term average throughput as approximately '''3 million tonnes of cane per year''', producing around '''400,000 tonnes of raw sugar'''.<ref name="WilmarMills" />
 
Recent production has varied considerably with seasonal conditions.
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ Selected recent production
! Season
! Victoria cane crushed
! Herbert region total
! Herbert CCS
! Notes
|-
|-
| Average Sugar Production
| 2023
| 400,000 tonnes
| approximately 2.73 million tonnes
| 3.99 million tonnes
| 13.02
| The Herbert season finished at Victoria Mill on 26 November 2023.<ref name="Wilmar2023">Wilmar Sugar Australia. ''Fifth season update for 2023''. 6 December 2023.</ref>
|-
|-
| Milling Configuration
| 2024
| Dual Train
| 2,573,824 tonnes
| 3,820,145 tonnes
| 12.36
| Wet weather and factory interruptions contributed to an extended season.<ref name="QCAR2024">Queensland Cane Agriculture and Renewables. ''Crush Statistics and Production Figures'', January 2025.</ref>
|-
|-
| Primary Export Route
| 2025
| 610 mm Tramway to Lucinda
| 2,668,633 tonnes
| 3,822,510 tonnes
| 12.82
| Victoria tipped the final bin of the Herbert season at 2:27 pm on 23 November 2025.<ref name="Wilmar2025">Wilmar Sugar Australia. ''Herbert Production Report – Week 24 ending 22 November 2025''.</ref>
|}
|}


Latest revision as of 11:53, 5 October 2026

Victoria Mill

Victoria Mill, viewed from Danger Camp Road, September 2025.
Victoria Mill, viewed from Danger Camp Road, September 2025.

Location
Coordinates 18.64997° S, 146.20096° E
State Queensland
Region Herbert River
LGA Hinchinbrook Shire Council
Details
Established 1883 (143 years ago)
Owner Wilmar Sugar Australia
Gauge 610 mm (2 ft)
Annual Crush 3,000,000 tonnes (average)

Victoria Sugar Mill is a sugar mill located at Victoria Plantation, approximately 3 kilometres east of Ingham, Queensland. Established in 1883, it is one of the largest sugar mills in Australia and, together with Invicta Mill, regularly ranks among the country's highest-throughput factories.[1]

Victoria is one of two operating mills in the Herbert River district, together with Macknade Mill. Both are operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia and are connected by an integrated 610 mm (2 ft) gauge cane railway network.

History

Establishment

The development of Victoria Mill followed the expansion of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company into North Queensland during the early 1880s.

In 1881 the Queensland Parliament passed the Colonial Sugar Refining Company's Act, which enabled CSR to acquire land and establish operations in the Herbert River district under special legislative provisions.[2]

Construction of the Victoria estate, mill and associated transport infrastructure commenced during the following period. CSR archival records contain correspondence relating to Victoria Mill from 1882.[3]

Victoria Mill commenced crushing in 1883. CSR constructed and operated the mill on behalf of the associated Victoria Sugar Company, with which CSR had longstanding commercial ties.[4]

Victoria was developed on a very large scale for the period. Approximately £240,000 was spent on the plantation, mill and transport infrastructure during 1883–85. The estate initially included approximately 17 miles of railway and four locomotives for transporting cane to the factory.[5]

Although Victoria was established principally as a vertically integrated plantation mill, CSR also purchased some cane from independent growers from its earliest years.[4]

Plantation labour

The early Victoria estate relied heavily on indentured South Sea Islander labour for clearing, planting and cultivation.

This reflected the broader labour system then operating throughout the Queensland sugar industry. Pacific Island labourers formed a substantial component of the workforce on the large plantation estates of the Herbert River district.[6]

At the same time, independent farmers in the Herbert district began pressing for access to Victoria Mill as cane suppliers. The Herbert River Farmers' Association was established in 1882 and became an important advocate for the district's small cane growers.[2]

Transition to independent growers

During the late nineteenth century the Queensland sugar industry progressively moved away from large company-operated plantations towards independent cane farming.

In 1892 CSR began subdividing the Victoria Estate and leasing or making land available to independent farmers.[5]

Contemporary accounts noted that Victoria Estate was being divided among farmers and predicted that the Herbert mills would ultimately cease growing their own cane and instead rely on independent suppliers.[7]

The plantation system subsequently disappeared and Victoria developed into a large central mill supplied by independent cane growers.

Expansion

Victoria Mill underwent repeated expansion and modernisation throughout the twentieth century.

Following the Second World War, increased sugar demand led to a major expansion of cane-growing land in the Herbert district, including development of the Abergowrie area.

As part of this expansion, Victoria's milling capacity was substantially increased during the early 1950s. The factory developed into one of Australia's largest sugar mills.

By the 1950s the Herbert district was approaching a one-million-tonne cane crop, and Victoria subsequently continued to expand as cane production increased.

For many years Victoria was regarded as Australia's largest sugar mill. Queensland Places records that it retained this position until Invicta Mill at Giru overtook it following major expansion in 1999.[5]

Steam to diesel

Victoria used steam locomotives on its cane railway for much of its history.

Diesel locomotives were progressively introduced during the post-war period, including Baguley-Drewry locomotives in the early 1950s and larger Clyde and E.M. Baldwin diesel-hydraulic locomotives during the 1960s and 1970s.[8]

Despite its early adoption of diesel traction, Victoria retained several steam locomotives in commercial cane-haulage service until the end of the 1976 crushing season.[9]

Several former Victoria steam locomotives were subsequently preserved. The Hudswell Clarke locomotive Homebush, built in 1914 and transferred to Victoria after the closure of Homebush Mill near Mackay, was retained at Victoria Mill and has subsequently operated on special occasions.[9]

Ownership

Victoria remained associated with CSR and its successor sugar operations for more than 125 years.

During the late 2000s CSR reorganised its sugar and renewable-energy businesses under the name Sucrogen.

In July 2010 CSR agreed to sell Sucrogen to Singapore-based Wilmar International for an enterprise value of $1.75 billion. The transaction was completed in December 2010.[10]

Sucrogen was subsequently renamed Wilmar Sugar Australia. Victoria Mill remains part of Wilmar's Australian sugar milling operations.

Infrastructure

Milling

Victoria is a dual-milling-train factory.[1]

Wilmar states that Victoria crushes an average of approximately 3 million tonnes of sugarcane each year and manufactures about 400,000 tonnes of raw sugar.[1]

The dual milling trains are commonly referred to operationally as the A-side and B-side mills.

Victoria and Invicta Mill regularly vie for the position of Australia's largest sugar mill by annual throughput.[1]

Cane railway

Victoria and Macknade Mill share an interconnected 610 mm (2 ft) gauge railway network serving the Herbert River cane-growing district.

Wilmar's 2025 regional figures give the combined Herbert network as approximately 567 kilometres of cane railway, operated with 23 locomotives and 4,059 cane bins.[11]

The interconnection allows locomotives, rolling stock and cane to be transferred between Victoria and Macknade when operational requirements demand it. Railway maintenance equipment is also shared between the two mill systems.[8]

The railway serves growing districts including Victoria Plantation, Ingham, Abergowrie, Stone River, Long Pocket, Halifax, Macknade and the lower Herbert River district.

Wilmar has progressively replaced older four-tonne cane bins with larger 11-tonne units in the Herbert region.[12]

Raw sugar railway

Finished raw sugar from Victoria is transported by 610 mm gauge railway to the Lucinda Bulk Sugar Terminal.

The Herbert mills use specialised 11-tonne bogie sugar boxes for this traffic.[13]

Sugar trains run from Victoria through the Herbert district to Lucinda, where the loaded boxes are transferred to the terminal's receival yard for unloading into bulk storage.

Victoria and Macknade are unusual among Australian sugar mills in retaining a narrow-gauge railway specifically for transport of finished raw sugar from the factory to an export terminal.

Production statistics

Wilmar publishes Victoria's long-term average throughput as approximately 3 million tonnes of cane per year, producing around 400,000 tonnes of raw sugar.[1]

Recent production has varied considerably with seasonal conditions.

Selected recent production
Season Victoria cane crushed Herbert region total Herbert CCS Notes
2023 approximately 2.73 million tonnes 3.99 million tonnes 13.02 The Herbert season finished at Victoria Mill on 26 November 2023.[14]
2024 2,573,824 tonnes 3,820,145 tonnes 12.36 Wet weather and factory interruptions contributed to an extended season.[15]
2025 2,668,633 tonnes 3,822,510 tonnes 12.82 Victoria tipped the final bin of the Herbert season at 2:27 pm on 23 November 2025.[16]

Location

Loading map...

Rollingstock

Name Builder Model Serial Year Current Mill Notes
19 E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5A 7070-3-4-77 1977 Victoria Mill Express train
2 Motor Rail 20hp 3717 1925 Out of service Former Victoria Mill Motor Rail 3717. Transferred to Macknade in 1958, converted from petrol to diesel in 1958 and into a ballast plough in 1989. Recorded returning to Macknade from loan in the Burdekin on 21 June 2001; listed as Macknade #2 in the 2005 Herbert River roster.
Dalrymple Baguley 2391 1951 Out of service Baguley works no. 2391, supplied to Victoria Mill. Recorded as scrapped by December 2010.
Seymour Baguley 2392 1952 Out of service Preserved operational at Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society, Albion Park; recorded hauling passenger trains in 2012.
Leichhardt Baguley 2393 1952 Out of service Sold by Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society to the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust in 2001; rebuilt and re-engined, arrived at Woody Bay in April 2013 and renamed PILTON.
Victoria Baguley 2394 1952 Out of service Worked at Victoria Mill as HERBERT by November 1974. Later carried the name VICTORIA and was preserved by Warwick Turner at Echuca. Sold from the Warwick Turner estate by 2019; subsequent disposition not established.
Herbert Baguley 2404 1953 Out of service Originally supplied to Hambledon Mill. Worked at Victoria Mill as VICTORIA by 1964 and was still recorded with that name in 1986. Later carried the name HERBERT; advertised for sale under that name in September 2010 and subsequently recorded in preservation with Chris Hart, Ingham.
Moore Malcolm Moore DH-112-GT-1 1956 Out of service Preserved at Alexandra Timber Tramway & Museum, Victoria; permanent home confirmed by the Australian Government Office for the Arts in 2021.
Centenary Clyde HG-3R 64-381 1964 Victoria Mill Usually used as empty yard loco
Ingham Clyde HG-3R 64-382 1964 Victoria Mill Active as of October 2023
Canberra Clyde HG-3R 65-433 1965 Proserpine Mill Now #5 - 06/07/22
6 Lucinda Clyde HG-3R 65-436 1965 Proserpine Mill Seen October 2023
Perth Clyde HG-3R 69-682 1969 Victoria Mill Active as of 2025
Albany E.M. Baldwin DH10-PS Mk2 6/1792.1 11.66 1966 Victoria Mill Used solely in the workshop
Hobart E.M. Baldwin DH18 Mk2 4413.1 7.72 1972 Macknade Mill
Rynne E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk1 5423-1-9-74 1974 Out of service Originally Victoria Mill BRISBANE; later renamed RYNNE. Converted from E.M. Baldwin B-B DH locomotive 5423-1-9-74 into a bogie brake wagon at Victoria Mill, with conversion underway by February 2023.
Darwin E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk4 6171-1-9-75 1975 Macknade Mill Transferred to Kalamia 2024. Back to Macknade for 2025
Homebush II E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5 6400-1-4-76 1976 Macknade Mill Due to return to Victoria Mill for 2026
Townsville II E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5 6400-2-4-76 1976 Macknade Mill Sent to Macknade to replace 14 after derailment
Wallaman E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5 6400-3-4-76 1976 Victoria Mill Active as of 2025
Maitland E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5A 7070-1-3-77 1977 Victoria Mill Active as of 2025
Adelaide E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5A 7070-2-4-77 1977 Victoria Mill Usually seen in Lannercost / Abergowrie area
Gowrie E.M. Baldwin DH24B Mk5A 7135-1-7-77 1977 Victoria Mill Active as of 2024
Homebush Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 1067 1914 Victoria Mill Operational and undercover. Used on special occasions.
Clem H McComiskie Walkers / R Solari GH500 605 1969 / 1991 / 2004 Victoria Mill Rebuilt by Walkers in 1991. Rebuilt again by R Solari in 2004.
Herbert II Walkers GH500 612 1969 / 1993 Victoria Mill ex DH30. Rebuilt by Walkers 1993.
Sugarworld Shuttle E.M. Baldwin DH8B 9109-1-9-80 1980 Victoria Mill Goondi Mill -> Hambledon Mill -> Victoria Mill
12 Walkers GH700V 680 1972 Proserpine Mill Walkers 680 of 1972; formerly Westrail M1851. Rebuilt by Bundaberg Foundry in 1996 and operated at Victoria Mill as JOURAMA. Rebuilt again at Pioneer in 2022 and transferred to Proserpine Mill as No.12 on 7 April 2022.
14 Walkers GH700V 681 1972 Proserpine Mill Walkers 681 of 1972; formerly Westrail M1852. Rebuilt by Bundaberg Foundry in 1997 and operated at Victoria Mill as CAIRNS. Later transferred to Proserpine Mill as No.14. Rebuilt again at Pioneer in 2022 and returned to Proserpine on 18 May 2022.
Victoria Walkers GH500 599 1968 Plane Creek Mill Converted by Tulk Goninan - 1994
Dalrymple Clyde Queensland HG-3R 70-709 1970 Victoria Mill Usually used as full yard loco
Hinchinbrook Wilmar Canefield 2024 Victoria Mill Wilmar 26-tonne Canefield B-B diesel-hydraulic new build for the Herbert region; contemporary reporting described Hinchinbrook as the fifth brand-new locomotive of the series. Confirmed in service at Victoria Mill by June 2025.
15 / Paluma Wilmar Canefield 2025 Proserpine Mill Wilmar 26-tonne Canefield new build. Contemporary enthusiast observations report that the locomotive was sent from Proserpine to Macknade for completion on 4 June 2025, later transferred from Victoria Mill to Proserpine Mill in May 2026, and was photographed operating there as No.15 PALUMA on 27 August 2026. Build identifier 006 of 2025 was reported in photographer captions but has not been independently confirmed.
Allingham Wilmar Canefield 2025 Victoria Mill Wilmar Canefield new build for Victoria Mill. Contemporary enthusiast observations show the frame at Macknade Mill for completion by 4 June 2025 and ALLINGHAM in service at Victoria Mill by 15 June 2026. Exact works or build number has not been established.
Thunderbolt Motor Rail 4wDM 11255 1964 Out of service Ex Harwood Mill; transferred to Victoria Mill and named THUNDERBOLT in 1998. Recorded as a wreck at Macknade Mill in December 2003.
Leichhardt Wilmar Canefield 2024 Victoria Mill Wilmar 26-tonne new build for the Herbert region; scheduled for delivery in May 2024.
Brisbane Wilmar Canefield 2023 Victoria Mill Wilmar 26-tonne new build; entered service at Victoria Mill in June 2023. First new-model locomotive introduced to Wilmar's fleet since 1991. Used on the Victoria Mill-LUCINDA raw sugar line during Wilmar's HVO renewable-diesel trial in November 2023.
S1 Motor Rail 4wDM 10181 Out of service Motor Rail works no. 10181 was recorded as Victoria Mill S1 in the 1978 Australian Sugar Industry Locomotives amendments. Later disposition not established.
S3 Motor Rail 4wDM 10381 1953 Out of service Converted to an unpowered ballast plough; transferred from the Herbert district to the Burdekin region in 2019.
S2 Motor Rail 4wDM 10382 1953 Out of service Remains recorded in Victoria Mill's scrap disposal area in 1978. Later disposition not established.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wilmar Sugar Australia. Our Mills.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Vidonja Balanzategui, Bronwyn. The Herbert River Farmers' Association: Sugar farmer associations on the periphery, James Cook University.
  3. ↑ Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University. CSR Limited Archives – Victoria Mill and Stone River tramline.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 CSR Limited. South Pacific Enterprise: The Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited – historical chronology.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Victoria Plantation, Queensland Places.
  6. ↑ Queensland Museum. Hard Labour for Sweet Fields.
  7. ↑ Queensland Department of Agriculture. Queensland Agricultural Journal, historical notes on the Queensland sugar industry.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Light Railway Research Society of Australia. Australian Sugar Industry Locomotives – Victoria Mill.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Queensland Museum. Homebush turns 100.
  10. ↑ Wilmar International. Acquisition of Sucrogen Limited. 5 July 2010.
  11. ↑ Wilmar Sugar and Renewables. Herbert Region – At a Glance, May 2025.
  12. ↑ Wilmar Sugar Australia. New cane bins. 25 June 2020.
  13. ↑ Light Railway Research Society of Australia. Queensland sugar cane railways today.
  14. ↑ Wilmar Sugar Australia. Fifth season update for 2023. 6 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Queensland Cane Agriculture and Renewables. Crush Statistics and Production Figures, January 2025.
  16. ↑ Wilmar Sugar Australia. Herbert Production Report – Week 24 ending 22 November 2025.
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