Nambour Section of the Moreton Central Sugar Mill Cane Tramway

Travelling along Howard, Currie and Mill streets Nambour, towards the former mill site (now Nambour Mill Village shopping centre) you will see the remains of the old cane tramway. The mill houses in Mill and Bury Streets, along with the machinery at the museum are the only remnants of the Moreton Central Sugar Mill which dominated the local economy from 1897, until 2003. The tramways were initiated to bring cut cane to the mill and large networks were established throughout the district. A two foot gauge was chosen for the sake of economy. Early trams were horse-drawn, with the first locomotive, a Krauss 0-6-0 tank, purchased in 1905. By that time there were 26 miles of track. From 1914 until 1945, the Maroochy Shire owned the tramways and built two lift bridges over the Maroochy River. The tramway to Coolum was integral to the development of the tourist industry here. The closure of the mill in 2003 was the end of an era for Nambour. No longer would the smell of cane, the spilt cargo and wire cane bins trundling along the streets, be part of the Nambour streetscape.