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In 1864, Captain Louis Hope opened Ormiston, Queensland’s first commercial sugar mill located in the Redland Shire district.
Hope’s efforts producing and selling sugar inspired other Queenslanders to enter the industry. Towards the end of 1867, 2000 acres of sugar cane had been cultivated in the Brisbane region. It became increasingly evident that Queensland’s climate was highly favourable to the growth of sugar cane, encouraging the industry to continue to spread north. Mills were built at Maryborough and Mackay in 1866, Bundaberg in 1872 and Cairns in 1882.
As the industry continued to prosper, many commentators and plantation owners argued that as ‘white’ labourers could not perform heavy labour in the tropical heat, Pacific Islander workers should be brought to Queensland to provide vital labour.
From 1861 to 1891, 46,387 South Pacific Islanders were brought to the colony where workers were often poorly treated. Despite their important contribution, the majority of these workers were forcibly deported after Federation with the passage of the Pacific Islanders Labourers Act 1901.
The Queensland sugar industry has been through a number of changes, but today, as much as 95 per cent of Australia’s sugar cane is grown in Queensland, and approximately four million tonnes of raw Queensland sugar are exported throughout the world annually.
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 | Submission from the Legislative Assembly to Governor George Bowen about the granting of land for growing sugar and coffee in Queensland, 23 August 1864
Queensland State Archives Item ID 1139515, Digital Image ID 2927 Lands and Works Department |
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 | 1864 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland published | |
1864 International Red Cross founded |
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