Yengarie Sugar Refinery ruins

This private property on the banks of the Graham Creek, about one km south of Yengarie, includes remnants of one of the most important sugar mills of the district. The most outstanding feature on the site is the ruin of the main refinery building, measuring around 32 x 20 metres, comprising sections of brick, stone and pise walls on pise foundations. There remains some evidence of pits, shafts, a water channel and the line of an old tramway. The site’s use evolved from an early steam powered abattoir and boiling down works established here in 1863 by Robert Tooth (of Tooth’s Brewery in Sydney) and his manager on this site, Robert Cran. The activities soon came to include bone crushing, wool washing and hide tanning. In 1867, Cran let contracts for clearing and cane growing, with a small sugar mill erected adjacent to the meat extract plant. The mill was continually expanded and improved and a distillery installed in 1871. Cran later established the Millaquin Mill in Bundaberg. The Yengarie mill site closed in 1899 because of a major international drop in sugar prices. The property was used for dairying during the 20th century. It is not publically accessible.