Yengarie Sugar Refinery Ruins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yengarie Sugar Refinery |
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Yengarie Sugar Refinery ruins, 2002
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| Location | Old Mill Road, Yengarie, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | c. 1867 - c. 1883 |
| Official name: Yengarie Sugar Refinery ruins | |
| Type | state heritage (archaeological) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600970 |
| Significant period | 1867-1883 (fabric) 1867-1899 (historical) |
| Significant components | mounting block/stand, pit - machinery, embankment - tramway, tank - water |
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The Yengarie Sugar Refinery was once a very important factory in Queensland, Australia. It's located on Old Mill Road in Yengarie, in the Fraser Coast Region. This historic site, built between about 1867 and 1883, used to turn raw sugar into the refined sugar we use today. Today, only the ruins remain, but they tell a fascinating story of early industry in Queensland. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Contents
The Story of Yengarie Sugar Refinery
The ruins of the Sugar Refinery at Yengarie are what's left of a big industrial site. It started operating in the 1860s. First, it made meat extract. Then, it became a sugar mill. Later, it grew into a major refinery for many farms and mills nearby. The refinery finally closed in 1899.
The Founders: Robert Tooth and Robert Cran
The Yengarie refinery was started by two important people: Robert Tooth and Robert Cran. Robert Tooth was born in 1821 in England. He came from a family involved in brewing and cattle. He owned many cattle farms in Queensland. In the 1850s and 1860s, he was also a director at the Bank of New South Wales. He was also a major shareholder in the Colonial Sugar Refining Company.
Robert Cran was born in Scotland and came to Queensland in 1849. He worked for Robert Tooth on several farms. By 1865, he became the manager of Tooth's meat processing factory at Yengarie.
From Meat to Sugar
In 1862, land near the Mary River was opened for settlement. Robert Tooth bought some land at Yengarie. His manager, JC White, set up a meat processing and boiling-down works there in 1863. However, White lost all his money when a cattle disease killed most of his animals. Robert Tooth then took over the land.
Tooth was interested in new ways to preserve meat before refrigerators existed. So, the meat processing plant was changed to make meat extract. This extract won awards in Sydney in 1870 and in Amsterdam. By 1867, Yengarie was a busy place. It had sections for crushing bones, washing wool, and tanning hides. A small town grew up around the factory for the workers.
The Rise of Sugar Production
Sugar farming became very important in the area. In 1867, Robert Cran started planting sugar cane. He also planned to build a sugar mill next to the meat extract factory. The first sugar was made in October 1868. It was a high-quality white sugar, considered the best in the Maryborough area. The Yengarie factory was always updated with the newest technology.
In 1870, the mill got bigger. New boilers were installed. They also added equipment to use bone waste from the meat factory to refine sugar. A distillery was built to make rum. From 1871, Yengarie became a refinery. This meant it took juice from other smaller mills nearby. Many of these smaller mills were built in the 1870s. The partners also owned their own sugar cane farms. Workers from the Melanesian islands were employed at the refinery and on the farms.
Focus on Sugar and Growth
By 1873, sugar was the main focus, so the meat extract works closed down. In the same year, a horse-drawn tramway was built. It carried firewood, sugar cane, and later, sugar cane juice to the mill. Many small mills in the Maryborough area sent their juice to Yengarie. They used boats or a network of pipes.
At its busiest, Yengarie made three types of sugar, plus rum, treacle, and tar. The refinery became a huge operation. It had a factory, a store, a lab, a distillery, a brickworks, and wharves. A small town grew around it for the workers and their families. Tooth and Cran even had their own steamer, the Nowra. It took sugar and rum to Maryborough for shipping. From the 1870s, gas produced at the refinery lit up the factory and the town. This was a luxury that even Maryborough didn't have yet!
Changes and Challenges
In 1875, Robert Tooth left for England. Robert Cran took charge of Yengarie. The partnership between Tooth and Cran ended in 1879. Robert Cran and Company then ran Yengarie. In 1880, Cran traveled to Europe to get machinery for a new refinery. He planned to build it in Bundaberg. This new refinery, called Millaquin, opened in 1883. Cran also provided land at Yengarie to connect the factory to the state railway.
By 1885, there were 40 mills and 5 distilleries along the Mary River. However, sugar production and prices started to drop. In 1889, Cran and Company opened another mill at Doolbi. This mill sent juice to Yengarie. It helped support sugar cane farming in the Isis area.
The End of an Era
The 1890s brought many problems. Sugar prices were low. Also, new laws changed the sugar industry. Large plantations using indentured (contracted) workers were replaced by central mills. These new mills served independent white farmers. After December 1890, it was no longer allowed to hire Melanesian workers.
Many plantations and mills closed. By 1892, much of the land along the Mary River was no longer growing sugar. A big flood in 1893 also damaged farms and the refinery. When Robert Cran died in 1894, he had no money left. The Queensland National Bank took over his businesses. The Yengarie site closed permanently in 1899. The land was later divided and sold between 1905 and 1908. James Mahoney, who owned a butcher shop nearby, bought the land in 1908. He used it for dairy farming, which became a big business in the area. His great-grandson still owns the land today.
What Remains Today
The roof of the main refinery building was destroyed by fire and storms in the 1930s and 1940s. Many sheds and worker's houses were removed. Some parts of the refinery building were used for dipping cattle until the early 1950s. Over the years, all the machinery was taken away. The last big pieces of equipment, the boilers, were sold for scrap in 1964. The tall brick chimney was taken down in 1983 because it was unsafe.
Even though much is gone, you can still see where machinery once stood. There are concrete bases, pits, and shafts. The front and one side wall of the main building are still standing. Other walls have fallen. Large fig trees have grown inside the building. Their roots have gone into the walls and foundations, giving the ruins a unique, picturesque look.
What You Can See at the Site
The refinery ruins are located on Graham's Creek. This creek flows into the Mary River. It's about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southeast of Yengarie siding. It's also about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) southwest of Maryborough. There used to be wharves on the creek, but they are no longer visible.
The most noticeable part of the site is the main refinery building. It's about 32 by 20 metres (105 ft × 66 ft) in size. You can see sections of brick, stone, and pise (rammed earth) walls. Most of the front wall is still there. It has several round-arched openings. Most of the wall facing the river also remains. The other walls have collapsed. Inside the building, there's a large tank and several big fig trees. Their roots have grown into the walls. The walls are bent and cracked in places.
You can see concrete bases where equipment used to be on the north-eastern side of the building. Much of the site is covered with plants. However, it's believed that other signs of the old factory remain. These include pits and a shaft that leads to a water channel. These hidden pits make some parts of the site unsafe to explore. The area is covered with loose bricks. Some of these bricks were made right on the site. They are softer than other bricks that came from elsewhere. Rubble from the machinery sheds forms a mound about 100 metres (330 ft) behind the refinery building. Maintenance sheds were located to the north of the main building.
You can also see the path where the tram track used to run. It's about 20 metres (66 ft) in front of the building. Other parts of the track ran behind the mill and to the west, but they are harder to see now.
Why Yengarie is Important
The Yengarie Sugar Refinery ruins are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. This happened on 21 October 1992. It's important for several reasons:
- Showing Queensland's History: The ruins show us a major early factory. It played a big part in developing the sugar industry in Queensland.
- Learning About the Past: The ruins and the area around them can teach us more about how the sugar and meat industries worked in Queensland in the 1800s.
- Connection to Important People: The site is linked to Robert Tooth and Robert Cran. They both made a huge difference in the development of Queensland's sugar industry.
