The Leap Cane Lift facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Leap Cane Lift |
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The Leap Cane Lift, 2011
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| Location | Bruce Highway, The Leap, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Built | before the 1960s |
| Official name: The Leap Cane Lift | |
| Type | state heritage |
| Designated | 5 February 2010 |
| Reference no. | 602748 |
| Significant period | First half of the twentieth century |
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The Leap Cane Lift is an old piece of farm equipment. It is located near the Bruce Highway in The Leap, which is in the Mackay Region of Queensland, Australia. This cane lift was built before the 1960s. It is now a special heritage site, added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010. It helps us remember how sugar cane was moved long ago.
Contents
How Sugar Cane Was Moved
The Leap cane lift is in a farming area west of Mackay. Mackay is a big town in one of Queensland's main sugar cane growing areas. This region produces about one-third of all the sugar in Queensland. Queensland grows most of Australia's sugar.
Early Days of Sugar in Australia
Sugar cane first came to Australia in 1788 with the First Fleet. In 1821, Port Macquarie became Australia's first place to grow sugar cane. In Queensland, Captain Louis Hope successfully grew sugar cane in 1864. He built Queensland's first sugar mill near Brisbane.
Growing sugar cane started in the Pioneer Valley near Mackay in 1865. John Spiller was the first grower there. He brought cane from Java and planted it. In 1867, he made the first sugar in the Mackay area.
Growing the Sugar Industry
The government helped the sugar industry grow in 1864. They offered land at a good price to encourage farming in the north. Soon, more sugar mills were built. By 1872, Mackay mills made 40% of all Queensland's sugar. Many mills were built along the Pioneer River.
Moving Cane to the Mills
Sugar cane was cut by hand or by early machines. It was moved to the mills as whole stalks. If farms were near a main railway line, the cane went on train wagons. But many mills built their own special small train tracks, called tramways. These tramways helped move cane from farms far from the main railway.
What Are Cane Lifts?
Cane lifts were used to load bundles of cut cane onto these tram or railway wagons. This made it easier than loading by hand. Farmers would put the cane on a special sling. Then, a cane lift would hoist the bundle. It would then lower the cane into a wagon.
Many lifts were on private farms, while others were at railway stops. Sugar mills often paid for the lifts. Farmers would then pay back the cost over time.
Different Kinds of Cane Lifts
There were a few types of cane lifts. One type was called a "traverser." It had an overhead winch that moved along a horizontal beam. This beam was held up by two posts. The cane was lifted and then moved sideways into the wagon. This type made loading much faster.
Another type was similar but had a fixed pulley. The cane wagon would drive under the beam. The cane was lifted, the wagon moved out, and a tram wagon moved in. Then the cane was lowered into the tram wagon.
A third type was the "derrick" lift. This one had a long arm, called a boom, that could swing in a circle. It was mostly used to load cane onto main railway wagons. Albert John Wellman Fudge, a carpenter, is thought to have invented this type.
How Cane Lifts Were Powered
Cane lifts needed power to lift the heavy bundles. Often, a horse would be hitched to a rotating drum to power the hoist. Later, small motors were used. After World War II, even trucks were used. Rollers on the ground would connect to the truck's wheels to power the lift.
The Leap cane lift is linked to the tramway that served the Farleigh Sugar Mill. This tramway was built around 1893. The lift at The Leap looks like the "traverser" type, with a horizontal beam and two posts. It has a fixed pulley and a winch, which might have used an electric motor.
Why Cane Lifts Are Not Used Anymore
Cane lifts became old-fashioned when new machines came along. From the 1960s, "chopper" harvesters became common. These machines cut the cane into small pieces, called billets. The billets are then shot directly into bins. These bins are taken to the mill by truck or put onto train wagons.
Chopper harvesters made cane lifts unnecessary. Most cane lifts, like the one at The Leap, were built before the mid-1960s. Some could even be from the late 1800s.
What the Leap Cane Lift Looks Like
The Leap cane lift is next to the Bruce Highway, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-west of Mackay. It stands between a ditch and a tramline.
The lift is about 7 to 9 metres (23 to 30 feet) tall. It has two tall wooden poles standing upright. A horizontal wooden beam sits across the top of these poles. This cross-piece is made of two wooden beams. Diagonal wooden supports help hold it steady.
There are pulley wheels fixed to the top of the cross-piece. Steel cable runs through these wheels. A hook hangs from the end of the cable.
The other end of the cable is connected to a steel winch near the southern pole. This winch has gears. A long handle on the side might be for a brake or to engage the gears. There is also a stake with an electrical part on it near the southern pole.
The lift is in an area surrounded by many sugar cane fields. The ground around the lift is a wide strip of mown grass. There is also a patch of thick bushes to the east of the lift.
Why It's a Heritage Site
The Leap Cane Lift was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010. This means it is an important historical site.
Showing Queensland's History
The Leap cane lift is one of several lifts in the Mackay region. This area is one of Queensland's oldest and most productive sugar cane places. Sugar has always been a very important crop for Queensland. These lifts show how the sugar industry changed over time. They prove how harvested cane was moved before modern machines. Cane was first cut and moved as whole stalks. The lifts helped hoist these bundles into wagons. They became useless after chopper harvesters took over in the 1960s. Cane lifts were used at The Leap from the 1890s.
Showing What It Is
The Leap cane lift is a great example of its type. Cane lifts came in two main forms: a derrick with a swinging arm, or a horizontal beam on two upright posts. The lift at The Leap is a very complete example of the second type. It still has its pulley wheels, cable, hook, and winch. It is located near a cane tramway, which shows how this type of lift was mainly used for loading tram wagons. The derrick type was mostly for loading main railway wagons.
Images for kids
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The Leap Cane Lift, 2011
