QLDFarming
Tully
A sugar mill gave the new town its centre.
1924Town plan drawn and first lots sold
WHAT STARTED IT
Tully developed around a new sugar mill and the surrounding cane-growing district. Processing cane close to the farms required a mill, transport network, workers and services, giving the settlement a clear economic focus.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The mill and town developed together: the plan and first land sales came in 1924, followed by gazettal and the first trial crush in 1925. The operating mill, cane farms and cane railways remain central to Tully, while its unusually wet climate has become part of the town’s public identity.
Read the fuller history
The official town plan was drawn in April 1924 and the first town lots were sold that July. Tully was gazetted under the Police Act in January 1925, and the sugar mill’s first trial crushing began that November. Cane railways and farms connected the new town to its hinterland.
TURNING POINTS
1924The official town plan is drawn and the first town lots are sold.
1925Tully is gazetted and the mill begins its first trial crushing season.
2025The sugar industry marks the mill’s centenary.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A sugar-producing town and service centre on the Cassowary Coast. The operating mill and cane trains continue the work that originally established it.