BEFORE mechanical harvesters, the gangs of cane cutters were known as the gentlemen of the flashing blade. They laboured in the hot cane fields with skill and grit.
The inaugural Cumic Steel Men of Steel Hand Cane Cutting Championships at Castor Park in Mourilyan this month were created to bring a slice of North Queensland history back to life.
Event co-ordinator Wayne Thomas was pleased with the spectator turnout on the day and was appreciative of everyone who took part in the various events.
“It was terrific to see the crowd cheer on all the cutters in the individual and team events held over the day,” Mr Thomas said.
“The competitors really impressed the crowd with their ability, and effectively demonstrated the amount of strength, skill and endurance that was required to cut cane before machinery became prevalent.”
He said the cane the competitors had to cut consisted of ‘bays’ made up of four drills (rows) of cane about 20 paces long – equal to about 1 tonne of cane.
“The cane cut was one of the older varieties – Q198 – and it was 11th ratoon.
“This made the cane a little bit harder then what would have normally been used to cut by hand (plant or first ratoon is preferred).
“It was exciting to have some ‘younger’ and novice contestants have a go. But the older and more experienced cutters have the techniques that enable them to cut the four rows more effectively.
“There were a lot of older growers and retired growers who came along to reminisce about what it was like when they had to cut cane by hand.”
Winners in the cane-cutting events included Paul Cecchi, Innisfail, in the under-35 years event, Paul Felesina, Burdekin, in the 35 to 55 years section, and Paul Donnelly, Burdekin, in the over-55 years competition.
The quickest 10 finishers in the three sections then went on to compete in the NQ Hand Cane Cutting Championships.
It was 76-year-old Brandon resident Lawrence Zumaran who cut his way to victory in the final event with a time of 20 minutes and 54.61 seconds.
Mr Zumaran has been competing in the event for the past 14 years, and it was his highly efficient cutting technique that led to him winning the main event by a matter of seconds from Burdekin cutter Paul Felesina, who finished at 20 minutes and 57.17 seconds.
Also included on the day was a competition where a team of four must cut and load about one and- a-half tonnes onto an old cane truck on portable rails, which the team must also move to complete the task.
This is a spectacle of a bygone era when all cane was cut by hand and then loaded onto cane trucks for transport to the mill.
The Burdekin Gang of Stuart Gilbert, Keith Gilbert, Daniel Marano and Paul Cecchi achieved bragging rights after edging out the Innisfail Gang consisting of John Strano, Santo Pappalardo, Santo Contarino and John Guglielmi.
Over the course of the day a tug-of-war took place which saw the mighty Aloomba 49’ers outmuscle Booya Tribe.
Other highlights included a pitch-a-billet event where competitors had to throw a billet of cane into a target; and a tractor pull race which saw the Sundown Crew prevail against Strano’s Team.
“All the funds that were raised at the championships are going to the Australian Sugar Industry Museum at Mourilyan to help continue to exhibit the history of the sugar industry,” Mr Thomas said.
He said he would especially like to thank the major sponsors, Cumic Steel. “Frank and Lorraine Cutuli are very good supporters of local events and were quick to accept the offer to be the major sponsor.”
Mr Thomas said based on how the day turned out, he was hopeful that they would be able to turn the championships into an annual event.
