William Sloane and Co. Archive
In 1974 documents and letters relating to sugar plantation and “Kanaka” (Pacific Islander) shipments dating back to the 1860s were found in the roof of the old ANZ Bank, Mackay, during its demolition. They were the records of William Sloane and Co. who erected the first sugar mills on the Burdekin and laid the foundations of the thriving district of Ayr. This collection consists of Xerox copies of the originals and subsequent historical work on the documents undertaken by Dr C R Moore when a postgraduate student of James Cook University.
Archive Location: 67L
Detailed Listing
WS/1 Te Kowai account with Lorne Estate 12/1875 - 11/1877. Mss 4p.
WS/2 Memo 9/1877-31/12/1877, Estate journal sugar account. Mss 4p.
WS/3 Letter re variation of cost of stores 16/10/1877. Mss 3p.
WS/4/1 - WS/4/13 Monthly pay sheets, Nebia Estate 30/4/1877 - 30/3/1878. Mss 13p.
WS/5/1 - WS/5/14 Monthly pay sheets, Cedars Estate 30/4/1877; 31/5/1877; 31/7/1877 - 30/3/1878. Included is a receipt for one pound, being payment to John Dows, superintending Engineer for one month, 6/1877. Mss 14p.
WS/6/1 - WS/6/11 Monthly pay sheets. Barrie Estate 30/4/1877 - 30/6/1877; 31/10/1877 - 30/3/1878. Mss 11p.
WS/7/1 - WS/7/13 Monthly pay sheets. Dumbleton Estate 30/4/1877 - 30/3/1878, 30/9/1878. Mss 13p.
WS/8 Comparative abstract of plantation production season 1877-78. Mss 2p.
WS/9 Polynesian labourers. Te kowai 30/11/1877. Mss 5p.
WS/10 Polynesian labourers: Barrie Estate 30/11/1877. Mss 2p.
WS/11 Polynesian labourers: Lorne Estate 30/11/1877. Mss 1p.
WS/12 Polynesian labourers: Cedars Estate 30/11/1877. Mss 2p.
WS/13 Polynesian labourers: Nebia Estate 30/11/1877. Mss 2p.
WS/14 Polynesian labourers: Dumbleton Estate 30/11/1877. Mss 3p.
WS/15 Kanaka a/c (wages, groceries, etc) 1877. Mss 3p.
WS/16 Kanaka numbers and dates of agreement 1/1/1878. Listing includes all five estates. Mss 2p.
WS/17 Kanaka numbers and dates of agreement 31/8/1878. Listing includes all five estates. Mss 2p.
WS/18 Polynesians for monthly report 1877-1880. Mss 1p.
WS/19 Polynesians report for monthly abstract 1880-1881. Mss 1p.
WS/20 Credits account, cash and produce, for all five estates. sd. Mss 3p.
WS/21 Memo of sugars received and delivered a/c Messrs. W. Sloane & Co. to 31/8/1878. Mss 3p.
WS/22 Extract from letter no. 104 from W. Sloane & Co. re discrepancies in returns 12/10/1878. Mss 2p.
WS/23 Letter to W. H. Paxton from M. McBryde re WS/3, 18/11/1878. Mss 4p.
WS/24 Duplicate of WS/23
WS/25 Unidentified list of labourers with date of death. Mss 1p.
WS/26 Statistical analysis of W. Sloane & Co.'s records by Dr C R Moore. Mss 14p.
WS/27 Newspaper reports of the findings of the above documents (a) The Daily Mercury, 21/3/1974 (b) Sunday Mail, 24/3/1974. Printed. 1p.
