Central Queensland Region

The Central Queensland sugar region extends from Proserpine in the north through the Pioneer Valley and Mackay district to Sarina in the south. The region contains five operating raw sugar mills: Proserpine and Plane Creek, operated by Wilmar Sugar, and Farleigh, Marian and Racecourse, operated by Mackay Sugar. The modern industry developed from numerous plantation and central mills established during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with successive closures and amalgamations concentrating production into the five factories operating today.

Proserpine Mill

Proserpine Mill commenced crushing in 1897 and contributed substantially to the development of the town of Proserpine. The mill became grower owned in 1931 and remained under co-operative ownership until 2011, when it was purchased by Wilmar Sugar. It currently crushes an average of approximately 1.7 million tonnes of cane annually and produces around 240,000 tonnes of raw sugar.

Farleigh Mill

Farleigh Mill was established in 1883 by Sir John Bennett Lawes. Originally operated as a plantation mill, it was purchased by local cane growers in 1926 and subsequently operated as a co-operative. Farleigh was one of the five grower-owned mills that amalgamated in 1988 to form the Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association Limited. It remains one of the three operating factories of Mackay Sugar, which is majority owned by Nordzucker.

Marian Mill

The first Marian mill was established in 1883 on the southern bank of the Pioneer River. Following the closure of the original plantation operation in the early 1890s, the Marian Central Mill Company erected a new central mill in 1894, which commenced crushing in 1895.

Marian is now the largest of Mackay Sugar's three operating factories, with two milling trains and an annual cane throughput exceeding two million tonnes. It also processes cane from areas formerly supplied to the closed North Eton and Cattle Creek mills.

Pleystowe Mill (Closed)

Pleystowe was one of the earliest sugar milling sites in the Mackay district. The Pleystowe Sugar Plantation began operations in 1869, with the first sugar produced at the mill in 1872.

The mill was acquired from CSR by the newly formed Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association in 1988. Pleystowe crushed its final cane on 29 October 2008 after 139 years of operation. Its plant and equipment were subsequently integrated into Mackay Sugar's remaining factories. Demolition of the mill commenced in 2021, with the original chimney stack retained. Mackay Sugar's cane supply operations remain based at Pleystowe.

Mackay Bulk Sugar Terminal

The Mackay Bulk Sugar Terminal is located at the Port of Mackay and is one of the world's largest bulk sugar terminals. It forms a major export facility for raw sugar produced in the Central Queensland sugar region.

The terminal is owned and operated by Sugar Terminals Limited and contains four storage sheds with a combined capacity of approximately 750,000 tonnes. Raw sugar can be received at the terminal by both road and heavy rail before being loaded onto export vessels.

Cattle Creek Cooperative Mill (Closed)

Located at Finch Hatton in the upper Pioneer Valley, Cattle Creek Mill commenced operations in 1906 and served cane growers in the western portion of the Mackay district.

Cattle Creek was one of the five co-operative mills that amalgamated in 1988 to form the Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association Limited. The mill closed in 1990 as part of the subsequent rationalisation of the district's milling operations. Its cane supply and railway system were incorporated into the Marian operation.

North Eton Mill (Closed)

North Eton Mill commenced crushing in 1888. Together with Racecourse, it was one of two early central mills in the Mackay district established with Queensland Government financial assistance before the passage of the Sugar Works Guarantee Act 1893. North Eton has been described by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries as the first central mill in Australia to manufacture sugar.

North Eton joined the 1988 amalgamation that created the Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association Limited and was closed at the end of the 1988 crushing season. Its cane supply was subsequently transferred to Marian Mill.

Racecourse Mill

Racecourse Mill commenced operations in 1889 under the Racecourse Central Mill Company Limited. It became grower owned through the Racecourse Co-operative Sugar Association Limited in 1927 and was one of the five co-operatives that amalgamated to form Mackay Sugar in 1988.

Today Racecourse is one of Mackay Sugar's three operating factories and is the location of the company's corporate office and central workshop. The site also contains a 38 MW cogeneration plant and the Racecourse Refinery, operated by Sugar Australia, which produces refined sugar for the Australian market.

Homebush Mill (Closed)

Homebush Mill was established by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) in the Mackay district during the 1880s. CSR discontinued milling at Homebush following the 1921 crushing season.

The Homebush cane supply was initially transferred to Farleigh Mill. In 1927, an agreement between Farleigh and Racecourse transferred the Homebush supply area to Racecourse Mill in exchange for the Calen and Kolijo cane-growing areas being supplied to Farleigh.

Plane Creek Mill

Located at Sarina, Plane Creek Mill commenced crushing on 4 November 1896 and is now owned and operated by Wilmar Sugar. The mill serves the southern portion of the Central Queensland cane-growing region and operates an extensive 610 mm (2 ft) gauge cane railway extending south from Sarina.

Adjacent to the mill is Wilmar's Sarina BioEthanol Distillery, which commenced operations in 1927. The distillery processes molasses into industrial and fuel ethanol, with steam and electricity supplied by Plane Creek Mill.

Modern Wilmar statistics indicate that Plane Creek processes approximately 1.3 million tonnes of cane and produces approximately 173,000 tonnes of raw sugar annually, while the adjoining distillery produces approximately 55 megalitres of bioethanol per year.