Kairi Maize Silos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kairi Maize Silos |
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Kairi Maize Silos, 2007
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| Location | 22 Godfrey Road, Kairi, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Built | 1924 |
| Architect | Henry Simon Ltd |
| Official name: Kairi Maize Silos | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 8 August 2007 |
| Reference no. | 602631 |
| Significant period | 1924- |
| Builders | Henry Simon Ltd |
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The Kairi Maize Silos are a group of heritage-listed storage towers located at 22 Godfrey Road, Kairi, in the Tablelands Region of Queensland, Australia. These large concrete silos were designed and built in 1924 by a company called Henry Simon Ltd. They are an important part of Queensland's history and were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 8 August 2007.
Contents
A Look Back at the Silos' History
The Kairi Maize Silos are a set of four concrete towers. They stand about 10 kilometres (6 miles) east of Atherton, near the town of Kairi. You can find them on the northern side of the Tolga/Johnstone railway line.
The Rise of Maize Farming
Maize, also known as corn, became a very important crop in the southern Atherton Tablelands. At first, it was grown just to feed local animals. But soon, it grew into the main type of farming in the area. This continued until the Second World War. Some maize was sent to other parts of Australia and even overseas. However, most of it was used locally, just like today.
Chinese settlers helped start the maize industry in the late 1800s. After the First World War, soldiers who returned home continued growing it. The maize industry has had its ups and downs over the years. The government often stepped in to help or guide it. Today, maize farming is a smaller part of the local economy. It is no longer the only or main crop grown there.
Why Silos Were Needed
In the early 1920s, farmers had trouble storing their maize. The weather in the region and problems with pricing made it hard. This led to the creation of the Atherton Tableland Maize Board. This board was in charge of storing and selling the maize crop.
In 1924, the Board built three large storage places called silo complexes. These were located in Kairi, Tolga, and Atherton. Out of these three, only the Kairi Maize Silos are still standing today. They are a reminder of how important the maize industry was in the region.
Farming in the Atherton Tablelands
Before farming, people in the Atherton Tablelands focused on mining and raising animals. Even though timber brought many settlers, the maize industry was key to opening up the area for farming. Maize was first used to feed animals in mining towns like Herberton and Irvinebank.
Farmers soon realized that growing only maize might not be enough to make a good living. So, they tried to find other crops. The Atherton Farmers' Associated asked the Minister for Agriculture to set up a State Farm. This farm would research and give advice on growing different types of maize.
As a result, the Kairi State Farm was opened in 1912. It did a lot of important research for the maize industry. The Queensland Government closed the Kairi State Farm in 1935. Farmers disagreed with this decision, saying such a farm was very useful in a tropical area.
Challenges for Farmers
White maize farmers sometimes felt unhappy about the success of Chinese maize growers. When the Soldier Settler Scheme started in 1917, many Chinese farmers were moved off their land.
From 1919 to 1923, the amount of land used for maize farming slowly went down. This was due to many problems faced by small farmers in the Soldier Settlement Scheme. Even though the government tried to help, the maize varieties available at the time were not good for the local climate. They often got sick with fungi and bacteria. This meant the corn was not good quality and hard to sell. Farmers then pushed for better storage and stronger types of maize.
Farmers also struggled to dry their crops and protect them from pests while stored. Getting rid of pests was expensive. It needed special drying and storage buildings on each farm. If the corn wasn't dried enough (to 14% moisture), it would get moldy. This made it hard to sell and gave the Tablelands crop a bad name.
At first, farmers kept their maize in barns. But rodents and weevils (small bugs) were a big problem. Richer farmers started using large galvanized tanks for storage. They tried to dry their maize in the sun on big tarps before putting it in the tanks. They would then add a chemical called carbon bisulphate to the sealed tanks to kill weevils. These methods had mixed results.
Government Help and New Laws
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock saw these problems. As early as 1921, they suggested building a modern facility. This place would dry, treat, and store the grain in one central location. However, they knew that farmers couldn't afford to build such a place themselves.
This problem, along with difficulties in selling the crop, was solved by new laws. These laws were part of a big change in how farming was organized in Queensland.
Between the two World Wars, the Queensland Government passed five important laws. These laws greatly changed the maize industry on the Atherton Tablelands.
- The Cooperative Production Act (1914-1919) allowed farmers to borrow money from the government for central storage.
- The Primary Producers' Organisation Act (1922) helped farmers organize politically.
- The Primary Producers' Cooperative Association Act (1923) allowed farmers to form cooperative companies to sell their produce.
- The Primary Products Pool Act (1923) created "pools" for farm products. This meant all farmers were treated equally, with one agent selling the crop.
- The Agricultural Bank Act (1923) let cooperatives borrow money for advance payments on crops before they were sold.
By 1923, these laws gave farmers a way to form a cooperative company. They could raise money for proper grain handling buildings. They could also sell their entire crop together, with guaranteed payments for each grower. After many arguments, the maize farmers used these laws. They formed a "pool" managed by the Atherton Tablelands Maize Marketing Board.
Building the Silos
The Atherton Tableland Maize Growers Board got a loan of £70,000 from the government. They used this money to build storage places in Tolga and Kairi. They also built a storage and drying plant in Atherton. Each place could hold about 650 tonnes (716 tons) of maize. This was just enough for the expected harvest of about 20,000 tonnes (22,046 tons). The Board started working in 1924, just in time for that year's harvest.
Each round concrete silo was built to be 7.6 metres (25 feet) wide and 21 metres (70 feet) tall.
The silos were designed, built, and fitted with elevators, cleaning machines, and driers by a company from Sydney called Henry Simon Ltd.
The Kairi Maize Silos were built using a special method called "sliding form" concreting (now known as slip-form concreting). This was one of the first times this technique was used to build maize silos in Australia. A British engineer, Mr. C.P. Kinninmonth, supervised the building of the Kairi Maize Silos. The whole facility cost £7,000. The Queensland Treasury paid for it, and the money was paid back through fees on maize sold by the Board. The silos were officially opened by William Gillies on 15 November 1924.
How the Silos Worked
At first, a single 20-horsepower engine powered the complex. This engine was very efficient because it ran on corn cobs after the corn had been removed! It powered the grain elevator and the fans that dried the maize. This engine was replaced in the 1930s, possibly with an electric system.
A small fan was built into the bottom of each silo. This fan was connected to special pipes on the silo floor. When it ran, it blew cool, dry air through the corn. This lowered the temperature of the maize inside. This stopped insects and mold from growing. By drying and cooling the maize this way, it could stay fresh and good for a long time.
Each silo complex had equipment for cleaning the maize. A drying plant was set up at the Atherton silos to process maize that had too much moisture.
When maize arrived at the silos, trucks would unload it through a grate in the wooden floor of the receiving building. The maize would fall into a bin. From there, an elevator would lift the maize about 5 to 6 metres (16 to 20 feet) up to a middle floor. This floor held the sorting and grading machine, which removed unwanted bits from the shelled maize.
Using electric conveyor belts and elevators, the grain could be moved around the silos. It could be cleaned, re-cooled, or sent out of the site through a tunnel.
An elevator in the space between the silos carried the maize up to the maize elevator tower. This tower sits on top of the four silos. The maize then went down one of four chutes into a specific silo. This part was done by hand. To get to the maize elevator tower, workers used a ladder on the outside of one of the silos. There was also a passageway under the silos that led to this ladder. Hatches at the bottom of the silos allowed them to be completely emptied.
Challenges and Changes
The silos were an example of how the Queensland Labor government tried to organize farming after World War I. They wanted to help farmers work together to sell their crops directly, without needing many middlemen. The government also provided things like transport, farming education, and research to support these groups.
This system of organized marketing and pooling crops did give farmers some steady income. However, instead of getting rid of middlemen, it added another layer of management. Farmers had to pay for this extra layer. The government's experiment with agrarian socialism (a system where farming is organized by the community or state) in the maize industry led to a very controlled industry. It also created a lot of debt for the cooperative and local government. The system didn't work as well as expected.
In the years after the silos were built, the costs of growing maize went down and stayed fairly steady. Even though the Atherton Tableland was the only maize-growing area in Queensland to use these laws, the industry struggled until the Second World War. Farms were small, forcing farmers to grow only maize. This led to weeds, pests, and soil erosion, which slowly made the soil less fertile and reduced crop yields. This often left farmers in great poverty.
The 1930s Depression and the Second World War affected many people in the maize industry. As farm values dropped, immigrant farmers could buy more land, even if it was run down. This happened as debt-ridden soldier settlers and other farmers left the industry. Slowly, farms were taken over and made bigger, often by migrant farmers from Italy, Albania, and Yugoslavia. Some of these farmers were even held in camps during the Second World War as "enemy aliens."
The industry improved when the Maize Board started making poultry feed in 1936. The "Athmaze" brand of animal feed became popular. This used about 21% of the maize grown on the Atherton Tablelands in the 1930s and 1940s.
After the Second World War, new technology helped farmers grow more and work more efficiently. But it wasn't until the 1960s that government research led to better maize types. They also introduced crop rotation and programs to manage weeds, pests, and soil. However, growing only one crop had made the soil less fertile. It also caused widespread erosion, with thousands of tons of topsoil washing into the Barron River for decades.
Farmers realized they had to act. They agreed to pay a small fee on all maize produced to fund research projects. These projects focused on erosion, soil fertility, pest management, and weed control. In 1946, this led to the Kairi State Farm reopening as a Regional Research Station. This government action greatly helped maize farmers and the farming lands of the Atherton Tableland.
By the early 1970s, all the maize grown in the industry was used by the dairy, poultry, and pig farms in the Tableland and coastal areas. These areas stretched from Mossman to Tully. The 1980s were a very tough time for the maize industry. So, the industry entered the 1990s facing many challenges. Returns were poor, and managing farms and businesses was very difficult.
The Atherton Tableland Maize Marketing Board and Athmaize (the milling and stock-feed part) had been combined since Athmaize started in 1936. In 1993, the Queensland government removed some rules from the maize industry. A new permit system with a fee of $16.00 per tonne led to the Board being dissolved. The Board's assets and debts were transferred to the Athmaize Producers' Cooperative Association on 1 March 1994. Athmaize went out of business in 2002. This ended 75 years of the Board's control over the maize industry on the Atherton Tablelands.
What the Silos Look Like Today
The Kairi Maize Silos are located on the southern edge of a property called Lot 7 RP901633, facing Godfrey Road.
The silos are made of strong concrete and do not have any fancy decorations.
The site has four separate silos grouped together. A building made of corrugated iron and timber is attached to the southern walls of two of the silos. This building has many levels and contains the maize receiving shed, an office, toilets, elevators, conveyor belts, drive shafts, and an engine room.
A tall, narrow maize elevator tower, also made of corrugated iron, sits on top of the four silos. You can get to this tower through a passageway under the silos. This passageway is still there and leads to a ladder on the outside wall. The passageway also holds the elevators that carry the maize to the top of the silos. The entrance to this passageway is inside the maize receiving shed, accessed by a wooden ladder. The areas under the ground and the passageway were not explored during the heritage survey.
Inside the building, some original equipment remains. This includes an engine connected by a drive wheel to a drive shaft, which is attached to the ceiling of the receiving shed. The elevators and conveyor belts are also present (though taken apart in the shed). The maize sorting and grading machine, which is from around the 1920s, is still intact. It is on the mezzanine floor of the grain receiving building, about 5 metres (16 feet) above the ground, along with its camel-haired conveyor belt. The entrance where trucks unloaded and picked up maize is also still there. The ladder used to enter the underground passageway was present but could not be used.
On the outside of each silo, there are hatches or manholes about 5 metres (16 feet) from the bottom. These are made of cast iron and open from the bottom. They are held shut by two simple latches. Ventilation shafts are located at the base of each silo. These shafts likely went across the bottom of each silo, allowing a fan to blow air through. This helped control mold and moisture buildup.
Why the Silos Are Heritage-Listed
The Kairi Maize Silos were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 8 August 2007 because they meet several important criteria.
Showing Queensland's History
The Kairi Maize Silos are a group of four silos with other buildings that form a complex. They are important because they show how Queensland's farming history developed. Maize was a major and long-lasting industry in Far North Queensland. These silos are the last remaining example of three silo complexes built on the Atherton Tableland to store maize and support the industry.
The Kairi Maize Silos also show how farming was regulated in Australia between the World Wars. They are a key example of how the maize industry was controlled by the Maize Marketing Board.
A Rare Part of History
The Kairi Maize Silos are a rare part of Queensland's cultural heritage. They are the only existing example of a maize silo complex in North Queensland.
Learning from the Past
The Kairi Maize Silos are mostly still in their original condition. This means they could teach us more about how concrete silos were built in the early 1900s. They can also show us about the technology and layout used back then.
A Great Example of a Maize Storage System
The Kairi Silos complex shows the main features of a large storage system used for the maize industry. It is a rare and mostly untouched complex. It includes parts of a bulk maize storage system, such as the sorting/grading machine, electric engine, elevators, and conveyor belts. The Kairi Maize silos are the only remaining group of silos like this on the Atherton Tableland.
Beautiful and Important to the Landscape
The Kairi Maize Silos are 21 metres (70 feet) tall and 7.6 metres (25 feet) wide. They stand out against the flat land of Kairi and the surrounding farms on the Atherton Tableland. The tall, corrugated iron elevator tower on top makes the silos even more noticeable as a landmark in the area.
Showing Great Technical Skill
The Kairi Maize Silos show a high level of technical skill for their time. They were built using a method called slip-form concreting. This was one of the earliest times this technique was used to build maize silos in Queensland.
