Celebrating 100 years of sugar in Mackay, 1964. Thomas Fitzgerald was appointed government surveyor in Rockhampton in 1862. While surveying the site of Mackay, he was impressed with the potential for growing sugar. He resigned and with John Davidson started sugar plantations. The first cane was planted in 1864 and the Alexandra Mill opened in 1868, producing 230 tons of sugar that year. By 1879 the Mackay district was producing 10,000 tons of sugar per year.

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Keywords: 1960s, 1964, archival, archive, archives, australia, australian, collection, historic, historical, history, image, mackay, photo, qsa, queensland, reference, state, sugar, vintage