Macknade Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Transporting harvested sugarcane on a cane tramway to the sugar mill, 2008 | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 18°34′36″S 146°15′19″E / 18.5766°S 146.2552°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 229 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 3.418/km2 (8.852/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4850 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 67.0 km2 (25.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Shire of Hinchinbrook | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Hinchinbrook | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
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Macknade is a rural town and coastal locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census, the locality of Macknade had a population of 229 people.[1]
Mackade is bounded by the Herbert River (18°32′00″S 146°18′00″E / 18.5333°S 146.3°E)[4] on the south and east, the Seymour River (18°31′00″S 146°12′00″E / 18.5166°S 146.2°E)[5] on the west and the Hinchinbrook Channel (18°29′37″S 146°14′59″E / 18.4936°S 146.2496°E) to the north (separating the mainland from Hinchinbrook Island).[6]
Seaforth Channel is another off-shore passage (18°30′54″S 146°16′22″E / 18.5151°S 146.2727°E).[7]
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]
In the 2011 census, Macknade had a population of 304 people.[12]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Macknade had a population of 229 people.[1]
The Macknade Sugar Mill (18°35′13″S 146°15′24″E / 18.5870°S 146.2567°E) is situated on the banks of the Herbert River .[13] 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.[14]
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°31′56″S 146°14′19″E / 18.5323°S 146.2387°E).[15]
Macknade State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 79 Farrell Drive (18°34′36″S 146°15′06″E / 18.5767°S 146.2518°E).[16][17] 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).[18]
There is no secondary school in Macknade. The nearest government secondary school is Ingham State High School in Ingham to the south-west.[6]