Shaun Tobin new chairman of Isis Central Sugar Mill

The Isis Central Sugar Mill board of directors has elected a new chairman following the news of Darren Harney’s retirement.

Former deputy chairman of the board Shaun Tobin will take Darren Harney’s place as the chairman of the board.

Isis Central Sugar Mill board chairman Darren Harney has retired after two years in the job and has been replaced by former deputy board chairman Shaun Tobin.

Mr Tobin joined the board in April 2016 and is part of a family farming partnership that supplies cane to the Mill from Wallaville.

Alloway can supplier Don Halpin has been on the board since October 2009,and will fill Mr Tobin’s former position as deputy chairman.

Don Halpin (right) will be taking the former position of Shaun Tobin (left) as deputy chairman, while Mr Tobin steps up as the new chairman.

Mr Tobin said he was confident of a smooth transition following Mr Harney’s tenure and welcomed Debbie Leis to the board to fill the casual director vacancy.

“ICSM will hold shareholder meetings in early August, where Mrs Leis will be introduced.” Mr Tobin said.

“All directors will be available for the meetings and details of locations and times for those meetings will be communicated when they have been arranged.”

According to the website, the Isis Central Sugar Mill was registered as a company in 1894, by a group of determined shareholding cane growers who wanted to raise funds to build a new sugar mill.

After two unfavourable valuations of their assets and opposition from the competing CSR Childers Mill, in 1896 the government approved the building of a new mill at the cost of £26,000.

Isis Central Sugar Mill fires on all cylinders. Photo Brittany Cook / Isis Town & Country

The deeds for the Shareholders’ holdings were then mortgaged to the government to raise money for the clearing of land, construction and a narrow gauge rail line. Walkers Limited were contracted to build the mill.

The construction of the Isis Central Sugar Mill was completed and the first crush commenced on September 7, 1897.

The result - 7763 tonne of cane crushed and 810 tonne of raw sugar produced.

Shareholders received the price of 10 shillings per ton for their cane. It took 25 years of self sacrifice before the farmers owned the mill and had their title deeds returned. At this time the mill was crushing 52,958 tonne of cane and producing 5963 tonne of sugar.

The years that followed the establishment of the Isis Mill proved to be competitive for mills operating in the district.

Isis Central Sugar Mill board chairman Darren Harney (pictured) has retired after two years in the job and has been replaced by former deputy board chairman Shaun Tobin.

The pressure to perform was compounded by rising labour costs and economic depression.

In 1933, CSR‘s Childers Mill (the last mill besides the Isis Mill) was forced to close down, making Isis Mill the only mill left to serve the whole of the Childers district.

By 1934 production at the mill had doubled.

About 300 growers now supply sugar cane to the mill and the cane is harvested from an area of about 13,000ha.

All the cane is delivered to the mill via 153km of narrow gauge (610mm) railway.

The mill has, in a single season, processed 1,505,400 tonnes of cane for the production of 223,874 tonnes of raw sugar.

Originally published as Shaun Tobin new chairman of Isis Central Sugar Mill