Meringa Sugar Experiment Station

The Meringa Sugar Experiment Station (SES), hidden amongst an oasis of mature trees, has a controversial past. The station bred cane toads for release in 1935, in an effort to control the cane beetles. Unfortunately, despite attempts by the Commonwealth to stop the release, a Queensland politician championed the cane toad, resulting in this pest spreading across Queensland and into the Northern Territory. Initially established in 1917 as an entomological station investigating insect pests, the Meringa SES has housed research into disease-resistance, farming techniques, and technological innovation. One of its most successful ventures in the mid-1940s was the experiments with benzene hexachloride, known as ‘gammexane’ which proved to be effective in controlling the greyback grub. It was also a sugar cane breeding facility. In the 1930s, glasshouses were built to propagate cane seedlings and 300 varieties were in cultivation by 1950. The Bureau of Sugar Experimentation had a number of similar facilities throughout the state, but Meringa remains the most significant major plant breeding station for the Australian Sugar Industry.