Macknade, Queensland
Town in Queensland, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Macknade is a rural town and coastal locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Macknade had a population of 203 people.[1]
c
Macknade | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transporting harvested sugarcane on a cane tramway to the sugar mill, 2008 | |||||||||||||
  Macknade | |||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Macknade | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 18.5766°S 146.2552°E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Queensland | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 67.0 km2 (25.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 203 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 3.030/km2 (7.847/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 4850 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Geography
Mackade is bounded by the Herbert River (18.5333°S 146.3°E)[4] on the south and east, the Seymour River (18.5166°S 146.2°E)[5] on the west and the Hinchinbrook Channel (18.4936°S 146.2496°E) to the north (separating the mainland from Hinchinbrook Island).[6]
Seaforth Channel is another off-shore passage (18.5151°S 146.2727°E).[7]
History
The Macknade Sugar Company opened a sugar plantation and the Macknade Sugar Mill in the area in 1874. The district took its name from the mill, which in turn took its name from a house in Kent, England where the mill's owners had lived.[8]
Macknade Provisional School opened on 13 November 1893. On 1 January 1909, it became Macknade State School.[9][10]
The postal receiving office opened in about 1901 and became a post office in October 1902. The post office closed on 29 October 1993.[11]
Demographics
In the 2011 census, the locality of Macknade had a population of 304 people.[12]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Macknade had a population of 229 people.[13]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Macknade had a population of 203 people.[1]
Economy
The Macknade Sugar Mill (18.5870°S 146.2567°E) is situated on the banks of the Herbert River .[14] It is the oldest raw sugar mill in Queensland. Its highest output was in 2005 when it crushed 1.82 million tonnes of sugar cane.[15]
The estuarine location of Macknade is well-suited for sugar growing, but it is also well-suited for aquaculture with Seafarms operating a large prawn-farming business on Neames Inlet Road (18.5323°S 146.2387°E).[16]
Education
Macknade State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 79 Farrell Drive (18.5767°S 146.2518°E).[17][18] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 26 students with 6 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).[19]
There is no secondary school in Macknade. The nearest government secondary school is Ingham State High School in Ingham to the south-west.[6]
