Rosewood History

From the Queenslander (Brisbane), Saturday 14 July 1883, page 39

A DAY IN THE ROSEWOOD SCRUB
[BY OUR OWN REPORTER]

There are few ways in which one could spend a day more enjoyably than in a ride or drive through the now famous Rosewood Scrub. The present season of the year is not the best time to choose for such a journey. Owing to the dry weather experienced lately, the herbage of the scrub and the produce of the farm lack freshness, and just now the maize, which has hitherto been the principal product of the district, has been picked, and the land where it has been grown is covered only with dead stalks. On the other hand, however, the atmosphere is beautifully clear, and as the dark foliage of the scrub is relieved by green patches of sugar-cane here and there, and the darker green lucerne, the scenery is still very pretty, while the air of this billy region is extremely bracing. 

The farmers of the Rosewood Scrub have been for the past year or two experimenting in the growth of sugar cane, and, at the present time can scarcely talk of anything else but sugar. There are many settlers in this district—mostly Germans—who, having commenced with hardly a sixpence of their own, have now their comfortable homes and farms, a few head of horses and cattle, and perhaps a few hundred pounds “out at interest;” but it is found by the majority of them that to depend for a living on the growth of maize, with its ever fluctuating market, is too uncertain. The quantity produced has increased year by year very rapidly, and sometimes the prices realised are so low as to leave a very small margin for profit. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that the farmers of the scrub have been looking about for something that would yield a more certain and more remunerative return, and the experimental efforts made in the growth of sugar-cane have consequently been watched with great interest. 

Mr. Hume Black, the member for Mackay, whose interest in the success of sugar growing all over the colony is well known, being anxious to see for himself what was being done in this direction in the Rosewood Scrub, recently intimated his wish to the member for Rose wood, Mr. Isambert. The latter gentleman at once made arrangements to take Mr. Black through the scrub; and accordingly the two members, accompanied by your representative, who had been kindly invited by Mr. Isambert to become one of the party, left Brisbane by the 6 o’clock train last Saturday morning for a visit to the scrub. The Hon. A. Norton, Minister for Works, had also been invited, but was unable to go. It was intended to leave the train at Walloon, six miles beyond Ipswich, to proceed thence by vehicle to Marburg, a small township in the scrub, making short detours to settlers who are growing sugar-cane, and to go from Marburg, via Tallegalla, to the Rosewood Gate, catching the late down train in the evening. 

Walloon was reached by 8 a.m., and here the party were met by Mr. Dilger, a settler living not very far away, with a waggonette and pair. A short distance from the station the main road to Marburg and Glamorgan Vale was left, and a short detour made to the westward to visit the farm of Captain Rae, which is situated at the foot of a hill on the southern edge of the scrub, a couple of miles or so from Walloon railway station. Captain Rae has about forty-five acres of sugar-cane under cultivation, and has a small mill, having a capacity of less than a ton per day. He has many varieties of cane growing, the principal ones being the rappoe, or rose bamboo, and the creole, both of which, of two years’ growth, seem to have thriven remarkably well. The cane is in some places overrun with weeds, and no attempt has been made to trash or otherwise attend to it since it was put in. Captain Rae, who evidently takes an intelligent interest in his work, has made experiments which unmistakably show the advantage of trashing, but he has been unable to have it done simply because he could not get labour. Last year, when hard pushed, he obtained some men, after advertising, at £1 per week and their rations, but often when they were wanted most they intimated their intention of going shooting, and the only alternative was to let them do so or send them about their business—the latter course, it is needless to say, being chosen. He says he does not care what labour he gets— whether it is white or black—so long as he can depend on getting and retaining it when he wants it. At present he and his two sons are working the farm, which is evidently too much for them. Last year Captain Rae crushed twelve or fourteen acres, the juice showing a density as high as 11°, and the cane having averaged a little over a ton of sugar to the acre. This year he will put about the same quantity of cane through the rollers. In addition to other varieties, he grows a considerable quantity of amber cane—a variety of the sorghum—which he mows down with the scythe, and puts directly through the mill. Last year the yield from this description of cane was at the rate of £15 per acre. So far the frost has not done any appreciable injury to the cane. He will not begin crushing this year till towards the end of the present month. He leaves the crushing as late as possible so that if frost comes the ratoons may not be injured. If it strikes the older cane it can be cut down and crushed before it suffers injury. His soil is very rich, and with proper cultivation and good machinery his return of sugar ought to be high. Captain Rae has a theory, rather disquieting to the farmers of the Rosewood, that the rich soil on the sides of the hills, at present so fertile, will by thunderstorms be washed away after it has been loosened by rain and that in the course of five or six years.neither corn nor.cane will be produced except for the more level portions of the land. 

The next farm which it was intended to visit was that of Mr. Tronc, chairman of the Wallloon Divisional Board. By a direct route, Mr. Tronc’s is only about a mile from Captain Rae’s, but by that route there is only a cleared track, not available for vehicles, so we had to make a detour of four or five miles, going out on to the Marburg-road, and then leaving it again. On the way a short call was made at the farm of Mr. Güth, who has about two acres of very fine cane. Some of it, of twelve months growth, is 8ft. or 10ft. high, and looks remarkably healthy. He has done nothing with the cane as yet except feed it to his stock, and has consequently taken little trouble in its cultivation. 

Mr. Tronc has five acres of cane under cultivation, and intends putting in ten acres more. Some of the cane of eighteen months’ growth is from 10ft. to 12ft. high, and is expected to go from 20 to 30 tons to the acre. The rose bamboo is here the most conspicuous variety, and seems to thrive the best The land on which the cane is growing has not been stumped; the cane has not been trashed, or attended to in any way since it was planted, and in many places it is falling down through the weight of dead leaves. Mr. Tronc intends carting his cane to the nearest mill. He speaks of the difficulty of getting labour to cultivate it, and acknowledges that if German families were brought out they would get farms of their own as quickly as possible ; but he does not believe in black labour for the cane or any other produce. 

A pleasant drive of another three or four miles brought the party to Marburg. Here they were entertained at luncheon by Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Frederich. who have a snug comfortable residence on a beautiful site overlooking tho township. At Marburg there are two large stores—one owned by Mr. Frederich, and the other by Mr. Dobson; a public-house, a wheelwright’s shop, and a few other buildings. It is at the junction of three main roads— those leading to Walloon and Ipswich, to Glamorgan Vale, and to Rosewood Gate; and bids fair to become an important centre of trade. 

After partaking of the kind hospitality of Mr. Frederich, and after a pleasant talk over the sugar prospects of the district, the party resumed their journey, next visiting Mr. T. L. Smith, who owns a large saw-null, and is putting up a very complete sugar-mill, about half-a-mile from Marburg, on the Glamorgan Vale-road. The machinery, manufactured mostly by Messrs. Mirrlees, Watson, and Co., will turn out about two tons of sugar per day. It is now .nearly ready for working. Mr. Smith has been afraid to go in for the vacuum-pan system in consequence of the difficulty of getting aa adequate supply of water—a difficulty experienced all over the district Captain Rae gets his supply from a dam which he has made in a gully above his mill. He intends to make another one above his present reservoir; and a feeling is evidently gaining ground that this is the best and only satisfactory way of obtaining a supply of water in the scrub. The country is all more or less composed of hills and gullies, so that there are plenty of facilities for dam making. Ascending a steep hill from Mr. Smith’s mill we come to that gentleman’s canefield. The cultivated ground begins on the summit, and occupies the greater part of the opposite or eastern slope. There are under cultivation forty three acres of cane ready for crushing, and four or five acres of younger cane. The soil here is far inferior to anything we have previously seen. It is a light-coloured loam, and is said to be the poorest under cultivation in the scrub. The cane is untrashed and badly intermixed with weeds, but it is nevertheless a fine crop. A good deal of it is of nine or ten months’ growth, and is over 10ft. high. A trial crushing showed a density of 10′ and 12°. Mr. Black estimated that the crop would run from thirty to thirty-five tons of cane to the acre, and was very favourably impressed with the quality not only of this but of the other cane that he had seen in the scrub. In a few places on the lower portion of Mr. Smith’s ground, the frost has touched the top leaves of the cane, but no real damage has as yet been done to it. Mr. Smith is anxious to properly cultivate his cane, but he, like Captain Rae, has been unable to get the requisite labour. He also is indifferent whether he has white or black labour, so long as he can get men who will really do the work to be done. He applied for a few Polynesians, but has not yet been able to get them. When asked, he said he doubted very much whether any new chums, if they knew what sort of work it was, would undertake to do the labour of the canefield, or whether if they did undertake it they would keep to it. He some time ago set one or two Europeans to hoe the cane, but they made such little progress that, to use his own words, he “got sick of it,” and stopped the work. In small patches where he has been able to get the cane trashed he found a marked improvement. 

After inspecting Mr. Smith’s saw-mill, to which is added a door and sash factory, with a very complete plant, we made a start for Rosewood Gate, a distance of eight or nine miles. This portion of the journey was over a hilly but hard well-formed road. The sun was now getting towards the horizon, and as shadows were cast across the hills and on the farms to be seen, surrounded by scrub, in every direction, beautiful views were presented to the travellers at almost every point. At Tallegalla there is a public-house perched on one of the highest points of the range of hills which forms the Rosewood Scrub. It is surrounded by cultivated farms, and the outlook from the verandah embraces miles upon miles of the scrub, with the level valley of the Brisbane beyond and the bold range of mountains on its eastern banks forming a background. Rosewood Gate was reached at about 6 o’clock, and as the down train was not due till a quarter-past 8 there was plenty of time available for taking refreshment and rest. 

At every place visited during the day both Mr. Isambert and Mr. Black, although widely differing on political questions, were received with the ‘greatest cordiality. The former gentleman, in view of the coming election, of course had an eye to business, and amongst his friends, of whom he seems to have quite a host in the district, he was not slow to express his willingness to “kiss all the babies ” that might be presented to him. The hon. member is evidently very popular amongst his fellow country men in the Rosewood Scrub, and it would take a very good man to beat him at the coming election. Mr. Black freely expressed his astonishment at the good quality of the sugar-cane he had seen, as well as his conviction that the industry would become a success there if a large central mill capable of producing the best of sugars were erected and a reliable class of labour could be obtained. Many of those who met him of course did not agree with him that coolies would be found the most desirable class to introduce for this kind of work, and many a friendly argument on the subject took place. 

After tea the healths of both Mr. Black and Mr. Isambert were drunk by the company present. The former gentleman, in responding, expressed the views I have mentioned above, telling the people that there was every encouragement for them to persevere with the sugar industry, but that they must first see their way to getting a manufactory which would make sugars of a quality that could compete with the high-class sugars now being manufactured in other portions of the colony. It was also a question for them to consider whether they would not have to claim the same privilege with regard to black labour that the planters of the North were bound to insist upon. Ho pointed out that in the Rosewood Scrub the result of not employing black labour to do certain kinds of work was, not that Europeans were employed to do it, but that it was left undone, the consequence being that the yield of sugar would be far less than would otherwise be the case. The cane he had seen, with proper cultivation, would be quite equal to that of tho Mackay district, although of course it took longer to mature. Judging from what he had seen, he thought the rappoe variety was the best suited to the district. The member for the district, in his response, said he had endeavoured to faithfully represent his constituents, and should be glad to again serve them. The party reached Brisbane at about half past 10 o’clock.