List of sugar mills in Queensland
The sugar industry is an important industry in Australia valued at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion per annum, much of which is generated through export. Requiring a hot climate and plenty of water, sugarcane is predominantly grown in Queensland with some in northern New South Wales. Over 4000 sugar cane farms produce 32-35 million tonnes of sugar cane each year, from which 4-4.5 million tonnes of raw sugar is extracted at sugarcane mills. At 2011, there were 24 sugar mills in Australia, ranging from Mossman in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales. Mackay Region is known for its five locally owned mills. Altogether they produce enough sugar to support Central Queensland and Northern Queensland. They range from Racecourse Sugar Mill, Farleigh Mill, Marian Mill, Proserpine Mill and Sarina Sugar Shed.
List of operating sugar mills in Queensland
This is a list of the sugar cane mills in Queensland, ordered from north to south.| Photo | Name | Location | Local government area | Crush capacity | Notes | Coordinates |
| Mossman Central Mill | Mossman | Shire of Douglas | 1.1 | Operated by Mackay Sugar | ||
| Mulgrave Sugar Mill | Gordonvale | Cairns Region | 1.25 | Mulgrave Sugar Mill commenced operations in 1896. It is operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. | ||
| Tableland Sugar Mill | Arriga | Shire of Mareeba | 0.7 | The mill is the newest in Australia having been opened in 1998 by Bundaberg Sugar. It is currently operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. | ||
| South Johnstone Sugar Mill | South Johnstone | Cassowary Coast Region | Operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. | |||
| Tully Sugar Mill | Tully | Cassowary Coast Region | Operated by Tully Sugar, a subsidiary of China Foods Limited. | |||
| Macknade Sugar Mill | Macknade | Shire of Hinchinbrook | 1.82 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. | ||
| Victoria Sugar Mill | Victoria Plantation | Shire of Hinchinbrook | 3.74 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia | ||
| Invicta Sugar Mill | Giru | Shire of Burdekin | 3.67 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. The Invicta Sugar Mill was located near the Kolan River in Bucca in the Bundaberg Region but was relocated to Giru in 1919 with the same name. | ||
| Kalamia Sugar Mill | Brandon | Shire of Burdekin | 1.18 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. | ||
| Pioneer Sugar Mill | Brandon | Shire of Burdekin | 2.16 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. | ||
| Inkerman Sugar Mill | Home Hill | Shire of Burdekin | 2.07 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. Maximum output 2.07 million tonnes in 2011. | ||
| Proserpine Sugar Mill | Proserpine | Whitsunday Region | 2.13 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. | ||
| Farleigh Sugar Mill | Farleigh | Mackay Region | 1.7 | Owned by Mackay Sugar | ||
| Pleystowe Sugar Mill | Pleystowe | Mackay Region | No longer operational as a mill but used by Mackay Sugar for shared services in support of its other mills. | |||
| Marian Sugar Mill | Marian | Mackay Region | 2.60 | Owned by Mackay Sugar | ||
| Racecourse Sugar Mill | Racecourse | Mackay Region | 1.70 | Owned by Mackay Sugar. Also is one of the largest sugar refineries in Australia. Known for its capabilities for crushing 1.7 million tonnes of cane per year | ||
| Plane Creek Sugar Mill | Sarina | Mackay Region | 1.76 | Operated by Wilmar Sugar Australia. | ||
| Millaquin Sugar Mill | Bundaberg North | Bundaberg Region | Operated by Bundaberg Sugar | |||
| Bingera Sugar Mill | South Kolan | Bundaberg Region | Operated by Bundaberg Sugar | |||
| Isis Central Sugar Mill | Isis Central | Bundaberg Region | 1.40 | The mill commenced operation in 1879 and remains a locally owned company. | ||
| Maryborough Sugar Mill | Maryborough | Fraser Coast Region | 0.8 | Operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. The mill crushes 0.7-0.8 million tonnes per year. | ||
| Rocky Point Sugar Mill | Steiglitz & Woongoolba | City of Gold Coast | 0.435 | Established in 1879, Rocky Point Mill is the only privately owned mill in Australia, operated by the Heck family over 5 generations. |
The sugar mills in northern New South Wales are located in Broadwater, Condong, and Harwood Island.
Former sugar mills in Queensland
Poor roads and limited transport options meant that there were once many local sugar mills in Queensland. With improved transport options, many of these smaller mills closed and only the larger more economic mills remain. This list is likely to be incomplete as many mills were small and operated only for a short period leaving few records. They are ordered from north to south, although in some cases the location is not known very accurately.| Name | Location | Local government area | Crush capacity | Notes | Coordinates | |
| Bloomfield River Sugar Mill | near Ayton | Shire of Cook | crushed 1884–1889 | |||
| Hop Wah Pioneer Sugar Mill | Mulgrave Road, Woree | Cairns Region | First sugar mill in North Queensland, opened in August 1881, and initially owned and operated by the Hop Wah Company of Chinese investors and managed by Andrew Leon | |||
| Hambledon Sugar Mill | Mill Road, Edmonton | Cairns Region | 1883–1991 | |||
| Babinda Central Sugar Mill | Babinda | Cairns Region | 1915–2011 | |||
| Goondi Sugar Mill | Goondi | Cassowary Coast Region | Opened in 1883, probably located at the end of Goondi Mill Road near the Johnstone River. Closed in 1987 after being taken over by Bundaberg Sugar. | |||
| Mourilyan Sugar Mill | Mill Street, Mourilyan | Cassowary Coast Region | Opened in 1883, it operated until it was damaged in Cyclone Larry in March 2006. After the cyclone it operated intermittently and closed permanently later in 2006. | |||
| Gairloch Sugar Mill | Ingham | Shire of Hinchinbrook | ||||
| Hamleigh Sugar Mill | Ingham | Shire of Hinchinbrook | ||||
| Ripple Creek Sugar Mill | Macknade | Shire of Hinchinbrook | ||||
| Macknade Sugar Mill | Ingham | Shire of Hinchinbrook | ||||
| Habana Sugar Mill | Habana | Mackay Region | The Habana mill operated from 1883 to 1901. | |||
| Richmond Sugar Mill | Richmond | Mackay Region | 1881–1895 | |||
| North Eton Sugar Mill | Mill Street, North Eton | Mackay Region | Originally known as the Defiance, the North Eton Central Mill commenced crushing sugarcane in 1888. It was the first sugar mill sponsored by the Queensland Government. In 1989, a number of sugar mills in the district merged to Mackay Sugar Limited, resulting in the closure of the North Eton mill. | |||
| Homebush Sugar Mill | Homebush | Mackay Region | 1883–1922 | |||
| Te Kowai Sugar Mill | Mackay | Mackay Region | ||||
| Palms Sugar Mill | Palms | Mackay Region | Palms was the last of the plantation mills in the Mackay district, closing in 1924. | |||
| Cassada Sugar Mill | Walkerston | Mackay Region | Operated from 1870 to 1886. | |||
| Palmyra Sugar Mill | Palmyra | Mackay Region | Operated from 1883 to 1905. | |||
| Alexandra Sugar Mill | Alexandra | Mackay Region | Operated from 1868 to 1884. When originally constructed, it was the largest sugar mill in Queensland. It was named after Princess Alexandra of Denmark who married Prince Edward of Great Britain on 10 March 1863. | |||
| River Estate Sugar Mills | River Estate | Mackay Region | There were three mills at River Estate: Old Sugar Mill, North Sugar Mill and New Sugar Mill. | |||
| Balmoral Sugar Mill | West Mackay | Mackay Region | Operated from 1873 to 1880. | |||
| Meadowlands Sugar Mill | Racecourse | Mackay Region | Operated from 1870 to 1914. | |||
| Cattle Creek Cooperative Sugar Mill | Finch Hatton | Mackay Region | Commenced in 1906, closed in 1990. | |||
| The Cedars Mill | North Mackay | Mackay Region | Commenced in 1873, closed in 1886. Operated by Maurice Hume Black. | |||
| Yeppoon Sugar Mill, | Farnborough | Shire of Livingstone | Commenced in 1883, closed in 1903. | |||
| Fairymead Sugar Mill | Fairymead | Bundaberg Region | Opened 1884, closed in 2005 | |||
| Oakwood Sugar Mill | Bundaberg | Bundaberg Region | ||||
| Doolbi Sugar Mill | Doolbi | Bundaberg Region | ||||
| Pemberton Sugar Mill | Bundaberg Region | |||||
| Invicta Sugar Mill | Bundaberg Region | Originally located near the Kolan River in Bucca in the Bundaberg Region but relocated to Giru in 1919 where it is still now as the Invicta Sugar Mill. | ||||
| Qunaba Sugar Mill | Bundaberg Region | |||||
| North Isis Sugar Mill | Bundaberg Region | |||||
| Sharon Sugar Mill | Bundaberg Region | |||||
| Windermere Sugar Mill | Windermere | Bundaberg Region | ||||
| Central Sugar Mill | Yengarie | Fraser Coast Region | The ruins of this mill are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. | |||
| Yengarie Sugar Refinery | Yengarie | Fraser Coast Region | The ruins of this mill are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. | |||
| Mount Bauple sugar mill | Bauple | Fraser Coast Region | The Mount Bauple sugar mill was established in 1896; it was the largest in the district. It closed in 1951, as the sugarcane was then being sent to mills in Nambour and Maryborough. | |||
| Moreton Central Mill | Nambour | Sunshine Coast Region | ||||
| Oaklands Sugar Mill | Morayfield | Moreton Bay Region | The mill operated between 1865 and 1872. | |||
| St Helena Island | City of Brisbane | |||||
| Gibsons Clydesdale Sugar Mill | Hemmant | City of Brisbane | Operated from the 1860s | |||
| Cooperative Sugar Mill | Murarrie | City of Brisbane | Commenced in 1872. |