Macknade, Queensland


Macknade is a town and coastal locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia.

Geography

Mackade is bounded by the Herbert River on the south and east, the Seymour River on the west and the Hinchinbrook Channel to the north.

History

The Macknade Sugar Company opened a sugar plantation and the Macknade Sugar Mill in the area in 1874. The district took its name from the mill, which in turn took its name from a house in Kent, England where the mill's owners had lived.
Macknade State School opened on 13 November 1893.
The postal receiving office opened in about 1901 and became a post office in October 1902. The post office closed on 29 October 1993.
In the 2011 census, Macknade had a population of 304 people.

Economy

The Macknade Sugar Mill is situated on the banks of the Herbert River. It is the oldest raw sugar mill in Queensland. Its highest output was in 2005 when it crushed 1.82 million tonnes of sugar cane.
The estuarine location of Macknade is well-suited for sugar growing, but it is also well-suited for aquaculture. Coral Sea Farms on Neame's Inlet Road raise both black tiger prawns and barramundi.