Bingera, a sugar-industry locality, is midway between Bundaberg and Gin Gin.
In 1883 William Gibson, a sugar grower who had started in Hemmant, Brisbane, purchased some land on the north side of the Burnett River. His sons were partners in the venture, and another Hemmant planter, John Howes and Bros, contributed financial backing. The Bingera Plantation (named after a pastoral station) was established, and a large crushing mill was operational by 1885. 'Bingera' is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word indicating bream (fish).
Gibson and Howes had a railway siding to their mill, and Gibsons Siding was renamed Bingera in 1897. Bingera was the biggest mill in the Bundaberg area and its plantation was not subdivided into farms.
A substantial community formed around the plantation and mill, described at different times as 'Bingera' and 'Bingera Plantation'. A Sunday school was formed, with nearly 20 teachers and over 60 children (c1900). For secular education, the children attended Kolan South State School.
Descendants of the Gibson and Howes families continued their management involvement in the Bingera mill until it was taken over by Bundaberg Sugar Ltd in 1972. In 2002 Bingera absorbed some of the Fairymead mill's allotted cane when Fairymead closed: the mill at Childers had drawn too much cane away from Fairymead and its continued operation was uneconomic. In 2010 the mill expanded to include a joint venture with Bundaberg Macadamias. A fire damaged parts of the mill in 2014.
Census populations have been:
Census Date | Population | |
---|---|---|
Bingera (Plantation) | 1911 | 611 |
1947 | 333 | |
1961 | 373 | |
2001 | 269 | |
South Bingera | 2006 | 572 |
2011 | 590 |
John Kerr, Southern sugar saga, Bundaberg, Bundaberg Sugar Company, 1983