22/04/2026
THROWBACK THURSDAY thanks to Townsville Citylibraries 📸
Do you remember the Sugar Shed Fire of May 1963?
The fire at the Bulk Sugar Terminal at Townsville Harbour was a significant event in the history of the harbour, the city, emergency services and the insurance industry.
It was the largest industrial fire to occur in Australia and the largest insurance claim so far recorded in the country. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company which owned the sugar estimated its value at £7,000,000. No estimate was provided for the loss of the 1000ft long terminal.
It had been the general consensus that raw brown sugar could not burn. No fire precautions had been taken in the construction of the building just a few years earlier in 1959 and the closest available water supply was 1000 feet away.
Fire fighters were faced with fighting a fire that covered the entire surface of a mountain of sugar 500 x 150 feet and 90 feet high. The only windows in the concrete and steel structure were 40 feet above ground. Fire fighters had to erect steel scaffolding to get their hoses through the windows to access the fire.
Volunteers descended on from all over the state, fighting the fire in shifts. As well as RAAF and professional firemen, teams of volunteers and equipment came from as far away as Brisbane. Kalamia, Inkermen and Pioneer mills all supplied men to assist with the effort. The U.S. Destroyer, USS Somers was in the harbour at the time and gave assistance with the use of the US navy pumps. One of the issues to emerge during the fire was that emergency services in different towns had different equipment, fittings and procedures. This caused a lot of confusion among the fire fighters, and a later inquiry resulted in the standardisation of fire fighting equipment and procedures across the state.
The ramifications of the fire were felt for months after. Creeks and rivers were polluted and residents reported a foul smell lasting for weeks. On May 14, The Townsville Daily Bulletin also reported a sharp increase in the price of sugar on the London Markets directly attributable to the Townsville fire.
Photograph courtesy of the Christensen family.
🎞️ Want to view more historical pictures? Visit the Picture Townsville catalogue: https://bit.ly/2XiVDE3
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