Initially the sugar industry of Queensland was dominated by large plantation’s in which the producers not only cultivated their own cane but also manufactured the sugar. Big plantations such as these needed as much labour as possible in order for the company to run smoothly . When the repatriation occurred there was a sudden need to change the way in which the sugar industry was set up in order to counter the labour shortage, this was through the introduction of the Central Milling System. The Central Milling System was first suggested by Samuel Griffith in 1885, however no real progress towards achieving a Central Milling based Industry did not occur until the 1890’s, when it was reintroduced by Mc Ilwraith. The Central Milling system was based on the having a central mill that would receive cane crops from several small independent cane farm’s in the district. These independent farms were mostly family run which meant that rather than hiring labourers, everyone in the family contributed to the cultivation of the cane, this lessened need for large number of labourers. The reconstructing of the industry occurred very quickly with only 230 cane farmers in Queensland in “1888 and by 1905 there were 3300 cane farmers who held an average of 41 acres of cane each”. In 1882 a group of six small holders from the Herbert river district who created the Herbert River Farmers Association, they aimed to "explode the belief that the district can only be developed by gangs of black labour with a few white bosses."
With the reconstruction of the sugar cane fields in Queensland a lot of mechanical innovations were made along the way in which also cut the number of labourers needed in half. Jobs on the cane field which would have needed many hands to complete were now being taken care of by machines which planted, cultivated and also fertilized the Cane in one operation. Also the traditional horse drawn furrow plough which was replaced by the steam tractor and the multiply disc plough.
With the drop in the numbers needed as labourers on the Cane Fields, it was becoming oblivious that the act of “black birding” was no longer a cheap alternative, as with each year spent on the cane fields the wages of the Kanakas increased steadily to the point in which Kanakas were getting payed just under the White Labourers. Voyages were taking longer and becoming more pointless expenditure as there was an ample supply of local unskilled workers, European immigrant from Italy, Malta and Germany and also miners and diggers during the decline of mining could have fulfill the needs of the sugar industry.
It is clear that the Queensland Sugar Industry did not suffer great losses towards the introduction of the White Australia Policy and the Repatriation, this was due to the noticeable structural changes made to the industry which started occurring in about 1885, hence allowing almost 20 years for the Queensland Sugar Industry to transition from large plantations to small independent cane farms smoothly.
Bibliography.
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Graves, A. (1993) Cane and Labour: The Political Economy of the Queensland Sugar Industry 1862-1906, Edinburgh: Scotand
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Bolton, G.C (1972) A Thousand Miles Away: a history of North Queensland to 1920 London.
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Newton, R (1897) “The work and wealth of Queensland : being a sketch of the progress and resources of the colony and its daily life.”,
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Docker, W (1970) “The Blackbirders ; A brutal story of the Kanaka slave trade.
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Corris, P (1973) “Passage Port and Plantation: A History of Solomon Islands Labour Migration 1870-1914
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Curriculum resource centre “Sugar on the top, down under”
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Pagani, M (1989) T.W. Crawford : Politicsand the Queensland Sugar Industry
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Barry, H (2000) Refined White
Graves, A. ”Cane and Labour: The Political Economy of the Queensland Sugar Industry 1862-1906", Edinburgh University Press 1993. 57
Graves, A .”Cane and Labour: The Political Economy of the Queensland Sugar Industry 1862-1906", 59
Bolton, G.C, A Thousand Miles Away: a history of North Queensland to 1920, ANU Press, 1972, p. 146-7
Bolton, G.C “A thousand miles away” 233
Bolton, G.C “A thousand miles away”. 236
Graves, A “Cane and Labour : The political Economy of the Queensland Sugar Industry 1862-1906”, 60
Newton, R “The work and wealth of Queensland : being a sketch of the progress and resources of the colony and its daily life.”, Brisbane : Polf, Outridge & Co., 1897 54
Graves, A “Cane and Labour : The political Economy of the Queensland Sugar Industry 1862-1906”, 58-59
Graves, A “Cane and Labour : The political Economy of the Queensland Sugar Industry 1862-1906”, 57