Isis Central Sugar Mill

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In 1894 the Isis Central Sugar Mill was registered as a company by a group of determined shareholding cane growers - their challenge was to raise funds to build a new sugar mill. After two unfavourable valuations of the shareholders' assets and opposition from the competing CSR Childers Mill, in 1896 the Government approved the building of a new Mill at the cost of £26,000. The deeds for the Shareholders' holdings were then mortgaged to the Government to raise money for the clearing of land, construction and a narrow gauge rail line. Walkers Limited were contracted to build the mill.

The construction of the Isis Central Sugar Mill was completed and the first crush commenced on Tuesday 7 September 1897. The result - 7763 tons of cane crushed and 810 tons of raw sugar produced. Shareholders received the price of 10 shillings per ton for their cane. It took 25 years of self sacrifice before the farmers owned the mill and had their title deeds returned. At this time the Mill was crushing 52,958 tons of cane and producing 5,963 tons of sugar.

The years that followed the establishment of the Isis Mill proved to be very competitive for the mills operating in the district. The pressure to perform was compounded by rising labour costs and economic depression. In 1933 CSR's Childers Mill (the last mill besides the Isis Mill) was forced to close down, making Isis Mill the only mill left to serve the whole of the Childers district. By 1934 production at the Mill had doubled.

At present, there are approximately 300 growers supplying sugar cane to the Mill and the cane is harvested from an area of approximately 13,000 hectares. All the cane is delivered to the Mill over 153 kilometres of narrow gauge (610mm) railway. The Mill has, in a single season, processed 1,505,400 tonnes of cane for the production of 223,874 tonnes of raw sugar.