Pump Track
Finch Hatton MTB Pump Track was designed and constructed by pump track specialist, Bike Tracks Australia. The track spans more than 400 metres in length and offers a huge range of hump styles and sizes for riders of all ages and skill level to enjoy. The track is also capable of hosting racing events.
Cattle Creek sugar mill
Finch Hatton MTB Trailhead is built on the old Cattle Creek Mill site. The mill was opened in September 1906 after continuous agitation by famers and mill companies, concerned that their cane was physically lost when transported over long distances via rail, as well as the cost of rail freight charges.
The mill was built with private capital (no government financial assistance was used) and erected using a variety of second-hand equipment bought cheaply from closed mills – a triple effect evaporating apparatus from Yeppoon and two crushing mills from River Estate combined with a third from Nindaroo.
The first crush commenced on 18 September 1906 and ended on 19 January 1907, and totalled 14,674 tonnes of cane. By 1926 the annual crush had increased to 44,533 tonnes and in 1949, after extensive reconstruction, the mill was crushing at 75 tonnes per hour.
A fire nearly destroyed the Cattle Creek Mill in 1952, however, it was contained by workers before it engulfed the site.
On February 1, 1988, the mill merged with Farleigh, Racecourse, Marian and North Eton Mills to form the Mackay Sugar Co-operative Association Limited.
Today, Mackay Sugar is the largest sugar producer in Queensland and the second largest in Australia.
The Trailhead pays homage to the site’s sugar history through the refurbishment of the Cattle Creek Mill Administration Building, preservation of the ‘bin shed’ on-site, and installation of the Kungurri Turntable.
Historic Kungurri Rail Turntable
The 40FT motorised rail turntable located on the Finch Hatton MTB Trailhead site was salvaged from Kungurri, west of Mackay in 2016. The Rail Department decided to install a rail-motor service between Mackay and Kungurri in 1932 due to traffic (both passenger and general) growing rapidly on the line. The turntable was manufactured by Cowans Sheldon, Carlisle UK, in 1886 and is marked with the year of manufacture as well as the sequential order/job number No 1492. There is evidence to suggest that this particular turntable was repurposed from Caboolture, as a 40FT turntable was installed there by June 1888. After Kungurri Station closed permanently in 1970, the turntable remained in place until 2016 when a volunteer group, known as the ‘Kungurri Trail Turntable Group’, removed it and donated it to Mackay Regional Council to be used as memorabilia at the Finch Hatton MTB Trailhead site.
Historic Bin Shed
The ‘bin shed’, built sometime after 1953, started out on the Cattle Creek Mill site as a cane lift. It comprised a gantry with a 4-tonne crane that was used to unload cane bundles from farm vehicles. The bundles were then placed onto the mill’s tram trucks to be transported into the mill for processing. Growers’ lorries would line up in front of the mill from 4am ready to unload their cane when the lift commenced operation at 6am. Growers would continue to deliver cane throughout the day until the lift was turned off at 6pm. As the industry moved to mechanized cane cutting, large cane bins were used by farmers to collect their cut cane, and taken to sidings where local company ‘Zarb’s’, transported the bins into the mill yard. In 1973, additional roofing was added either side of the crane gantry which created a covered workshop area. This area was used to service and repair the cane bins and the lift was used for moving the cane bins. The whole area then became known as the ‘bin shop/shed’. The lift is still in there today, along with the initials of employees who used to work there.
Historic Cattle Creek Mill Administration Building
In 2021, the Cattle Creek Mill administration building (“mill office”) was restored and brought back to its former glory. The building was constructed in 1957 to 1959 by a small group of workers from the mill. They constructed it during the off-season and after hours, which is why it took them two years to construct. Staff member Charles Azzolini is credited with influencing/deciding on the style of the building. He used construction techniques and styles from his Italian heritage. The timber trusses, most in immaculate condition still today, were supplied by Charles Porter & Sons, and the steel-framed windows in a deco-style were commissioned. Once completed the mill office became the venue for board meetings, as well as the day-to-day administration, including the weekly cash pay collections. Each staff member would line up outside the mill office and was required to sign the ledger book recording the time they received their pay.