By 1880, Bundaberg had 6 sugar mills in operation – Millbank, Woondooma, Shanon,
Waterview, Branyan and Cuba. None, however, could match the impact of a refinery
for restoring the flagging confidence in the region.
By 1880, Cran and Co had changed their position, with John Cran and his engineer,
William Thomas, arriving in August to mark out the ground for the Millaquin Refinery.
The Millaquin Refinery, an outstanding success, proved to be the catalyst for the
transformation of Bundaberg into a “Sugarpolitan.”
A number of juice mills were ready when Millaquin began operations. These included
Ashgrove, Avoca, Fairymead, Glenmorris, Grange, Kepnock, Mabbro, Summerville, Windermere
and Woodbine. In 1883 these were joined by Hummock, Oakwood and Spring Hill, followed
in the next couple of years by Seaview, Mon Repos, Sunnyside and Woodlands.
From 1882 to 1884 a total of 24 cane crushing mills were erected in the Bundaberg
district. Bundaberg, in 1881, had supplied a mere 3% of the entire Queensland crop.
In only two years time (1883), Bundaberg had established itself as one of the leading
sugar cane centres, supplying more then 1/5th of the ENTIRE colony's sugar output.
With this surge of production, a new problem arose. What to do with so much molasses?
In the process of sugar-making, a waste product called molasses, (a thick brown,
viscous liquid) is left over. Some uses for the molasses had been using it as stockfeed
and fertiliser, however these solutions were not viable on a large scale for a few
reasons. Most of the molasses was wasted by being pumped straight into the Burnett
River. Something had to be done to utilise this material.
