Habana

Habana is a rural/residential district 15 km north-west of Mackay. It was named after the La Habana sugar plantation established by E.M. Long and W. Robertson. (Long played an important role in establishing the sugar industry in the Mackay area.)

The plantation was in a valley with moderately steep hillsides which were considered to be a disadvantage, but Long was intent on developing a model plantation. He installed 17 miles of tramway to bring cane to his Habana crushing mill (1883), and employed up to 200 workers. He had a wharf on Habana Creek, used for bringing in the mill machinery and exporting raw sugar. The steep hillsides around the plantation, however, were subject to erosion and soil depletion. These conditions, together with a dispute with growers over payment for cane tonnage versus sugar content, brought about closure of the mill in 1901. Some farmers turned to dairying, and sugar growing did not start to recover until a tramline to the Pleystowe mill, 12 km south of Habana, was built in 1908. As a result, the post office directory in 1902 recorded only a few cane farmers, along with a still-resident tramline overseer, blacksmith and wheelwright. In 1949 the directory recorded 31 cane farmers, 6 dairy farmers and 2 stores.

The hilly landscape around Habana has been turned to advantage, becoming a sought-after location for rural/residential acreages. Habana's census populations have been: