Condong Mill

Condong Mill
Condong Sugar Mill, 2008. Lobster1.
Location
Coordinates	28.31411° S, 153.43551° E
State	Queensland
Region	Northern Rivers
LGA	Tweed Shire
Details
Established	1880 (146 years ago)
Owner	Sunshine Sugar
Gauge	Road transport only (formerly 610 mm / 2 ft)
Annual Crush	402,000 tonnes (2024 season)

Condong Mill is a raw sugar factory located on the southern bank of the Tweed River at Condong, approximately 4 kilometres north-east of Murwillumbah in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. The mill commenced crushing in 1880 and is the second-oldest continuously operating sugar mill in Australia, after Harwood Mill, which commenced operations in 1874.

Condong is one of three operating New South Wales sugar mills, together with Broadwater Mill on the Richmond River and Harwood on the Clarence River. The mills are operated by Sunshine Sugar, a 50/50 partnership between the grower-owned New South Wales Sugar Milling Co-operative Limited and the Australian family-owned Manildra Group.

History

Establishment

The Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) acquired land on the southern bank of the Tweed River in 1877 as part of its expansion into the sugar-growing districts of northern New South Wales. Construction of Condong Mill commenced in 1879.

The mill commenced crushing on 16 August 1880. During its first season Condong processed 5,564 tons of cane and produced 356 tons of raw sugar.

Initially most cane was grown along the Tweed River and its tributaries and was transported to the factory by punt. CSR progressively expanded the mill and its cane supply area as sugar cultivation developed throughout the Tweed Valley.

CSR subsequently established Broadwater Mill on the Richmond River in 1881, completing the group of three major Northern Rivers mills which, together with Harwood, remain in operation today.

Expansion

Condong experienced recurring difficulties securing sufficient cane during its early decades. To increase its supply area CSR progressively developed tramways into districts away from the river and acquired neighbouring sugar operations.

In 1912, CSR purchased the Cudgen Mill from J. A. Robb & Company. Cudgen ceased crushing and its machinery was transferred to Condong to increase the factory's capacity.

The former Cudgen cane railway continued operating, carrying cane to a wharf at Chinderah. From there the cane was loaded into punts for the journey upstream to Condong Mill. A connecting 610 mm gauge railway between the Condong and former Cudgen systems was eventually opened in 1959.

Grower ownership

During the 1970s CSR decided to withdraw from sugar milling in northern New South Wales. Local cane growers formed the New South Wales Sugar Milling Co-operative Limited and in 1978 purchased the Condong, Broadwater and Harwood mills from CSR.

The acquisition created Australia's first multi-mill grower-owned sugar co-operative.

In 1988 the Co-operative entered into partnership with the Manildra Group to establish the Manildra Harwood Sugars refinery adjacent to Harwood Mill. The refinery produced its first refined sugar in September 1989.

The Manildra partnership initially related to refining rather than ownership of the three raw sugar mills. In 2015, Manildra acquired a 50 per cent interest in the milling business and the milling and refining operations were combined under a 50/50 partnership with the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative. The combined business operates as Sunshine Sugar.

Transport

River transport

The Tweed River was fundamental to the early Condong sugar industry. Most cane initially arrived at the factory aboard punts loaded at farms and riverside wharves throughout the district.

The punts were assembled into groups and towed to Condong by launches and tugs. River transport allowed cane to be collected from areas where nineteenth-century roads were unsuitable for heavy agricultural traffic.

Cane punts continued to form part of the district transport system well into the twentieth century. Their importance declined with the introduction of mechanical harvesting and road-hauled cane bins during the 1970s.

Cane tramway

Condong developed the most extensive mill-owned cane railway system operated by a CSR mill in New South Wales.

The first line was a horse-operated 610 mm (2 ft) gauge tramway approximately 4 kilometres long serving growers around German Creek. Although proposed in 1883, it was constructed in early 1885 and proved sufficiently successful for further lines to be built.

By 1897 approximately seven miles of tramway were operating. Horses initially provided all motive power, with small internal-combustion locomotives introduced during the early 1920s.

The Condong network expanded substantially during the twentieth century. A line towards Tumbulgum was completed in 1952 and the previously isolated Cudgen system was connected with Condong in 1959.

By the 1960s the combined network extended approximately 36 route miles (58 kilometres) and was operated by a fleet of steam-converted and diesel locomotives.

Mechanical cane harvesting began on a large scale at Condong during the 1971 season. Unlike most Queensland mills, Condong did not substantially rebuild its railway system to handle large quantities of mechanically harvested cane, instead introducing road-hauled bins.

The Crabbes Creek tramway closed after the 1972 crushing season. By the end of 1973 rail operations had contracted to the Tumbulgum area, and the remaining Condong tramway system closed at the end of the 1974 season.

Locomotives

The Condong and Cudgen systems employed a varied locomotive fleet.

Early steam locomotives included Krauss 0-4-0WT Eviron (works number 2195 of 1889) and several John Fowler & Co. locomotives. The Decauville 0-6-2T Torpedo (works number 245 of 1897), formerly used at Childers Sugar Mill, was transferred to the Cudgen system under Condong ownership in 1913.

By the 1960s the fleet included Fowler locomotives rebuilt with diesel engines and purpose-built diesel locomotives from manufacturers including Motor Rail, Ruston & Hornsby and E.M. Baldwin.

Ruston & Hornsby 40DL locomotive works number 371959, built in 1953, subsequently worked in the Condong operation. It is now preserved in operational condition by the Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society at Albion Park Rail.

Government railway

The extension of the New South Wales Government Railways line from Murwillumbah to Condong opened in 1894. The approximately 5 kilometre standard-gauge branch followed the Tweed River to the mill and was reportedly the longest private siding on the New South Wales railway system when constructed.

The government railway allowed cane from more distant areas to be carried to Condong in standard-gauge wagons. Cane from the Mooball and Crabbes Creek districts, for example, was transferred from CSR's narrow-gauge tramway into government wagons at Crabbes Creek for delivery through Murwillumbah to Condong.

The siding also handled sugar, molasses, coal and other traffic associated with the mill. Remnants of the former standard-gauge formation and track survive around Condong.

Road transport

Condong now receives harvested cane entirely by road.

Mechanically harvested cane is transferred into bins at farms and hauled to the mill by Sunshine Sugar's specialised road transport fleet. The transition to road haulage began during the early 1970s and had completely replaced Condong's mill railway by 1975.

Milling

Condong operates continuously, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, during the crushing season apart from scheduled maintenance stoppages.

Sunshine Sugar lists the mill's current crushing capacity at approximately 185 tonnes of cane per hour and its sugar production capacity at approximately 24 tonnes per hour. The Condong production area comprises approximately 6,923 hectares of cane land.

Condong also produces Direct Consumption raw sugar and Sunshine Sugar's Low GI sugar within the milling process.

During the 2024 season the mill crushed just over 402,000 tonnes of cane, completing its season on 13 December.

Approximately 400,000 tonnes of cane were forecast for the Condong mill area for the 2025 season.

Cogeneration

A biomass cogeneration plant is located alongside Condong Mill.

The power station was originally developed through a joint venture involving the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative and Delta Electricity. The modern plant was commissioned in 2008 and has a generating capacity of approximately 30 MW.

It uses bagasse, the fibrous residue remaining after cane crushing, together with other approved biomass fuels. The plant supplies steam and electricity required by Condong Mill during the crushing season and exports electricity to the National Electricity Market. It can also operate outside the crushing season using other biomass fuels.

Cape Byron Management acquired the Condong and Broadwater power stations in November 2013 and continues to operate them independently of Sunshine Sugar.

Flooding

Condong's location immediately beside the Tweed River leaves the factory vulnerable to major flooding.

In March 2017 the mill site was inundated by approximately 1.5 metres of floodwater, requiring the evacuation of employees and extensive repairs before the crushing season.

The February–March 2022 Northern Rivers floods again inundated the factory, with approximately one metre of water reported throughout the site. Condong was repaired in time to begin crushing during June 2022 and ultimately processed approximately 395,000 tonnes of cane for the season.

Sunshine Sugar subsequently secured government funding for flood-mitigation works at Condong, including protection of critical mill infrastructure.

Production Statistics

Statistic	Value
Crushing commenced	16 August 1880
Crushing capacity	185 tonnes of cane per hour
Sugar production capacity	24 tonnes per hour
Production area	Approximately 6,923 hectares
2024 cane crush	Just over 402,000 tonnes
Current cane transport	Road
Historical tramway gauge	610 mm (2 ft)
Maximum historical tramway extent	Approximately 58 km
Cogeneration capacity	30 MW

Location

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