Lynne Mowbray
It’s been over a quarter of a century since the much-loved Cane Harvest Festival has been celebrated in Maclean, but plans are well and truly underway for its return, early in the new year.
Clarence Canegrowers Association 100-year Celebration, organising committee president, Allira Robison (nee Farlow) said that the event is set down for 12 April 2025.
“Following off the back of the Harwood Mill 150-year celebrations and the success of that, there was lots of talk about how great it would be for our community to have the Cane Harvest Festival back up and running,” said Allira.
“The Clarence Canegrowers Association will be celebrating their 100-year anniversary next year, so we thought what a great opportunity to commemorate that, and bring the community back together, with a modern-day style Cane Harvest Festival – in the hope that it will continue year after year, as an annual event.
We just think that it’s such an integral part of our community, that we’d really love everyone to come out and celebrate it together.
It’s been about 28 years since we’ve held the last one (Cane Harvest Festival). Obviously, a lot of things have changed, in what we are allowed to do and not allowed to do. So, we’re going to be trying to include as many things from the original Cane Harvest Festival as we can.
It’s our first year of getting it back up and running, but in subsequent years we’re hoping to have things like art competitions and baking competitions etc,” she said.
Allira said that they have a great committee formed of community volunteers, as well as local canegrowers and she had just been elected president, at last week’s meeting.
“Our family, the Farlow’s, have been canegrowers for 150 years – as long as the sugar mill has been here,” she said.
“The family have all grown cane in the same spot, that my mum and dad now farm.
So, it’s something that I hold quite close to my heart.
My dad Ross Farlow is the leader of our family now, as everyone before him has passed on, so he’s carrying on the legacy, honouring all those who have gone before him.
Dad (Ross) is very involved in the cane industry and is the Chairman of the Clarence Canegrowers Association, Chairman of the NSW Canegrowers and Board member of Australian Canegrowers Council.
So, we’re picking his brain as well, to see what sort of things they did in the past.
Something that he remembered from the Cane Harvest Festival, was a ‘canecutters bowls day’ against the Richmond canegrowers, so we’re working on bringing that back. It got the farmers back then, off the land and got them to enjoy themselves at a social event.
A trivia fundraising night has been set down for Saturday 8 March 2025, at the Maclean Bowling Club, at 7pm. More details are to come.
There are lots and lots of other exciting things planned, especially in the lead up to the Cane Harvest Festival – so watch this space,” she said.
For anyone wanting to know more about this event, they can contact either Allira Robison or Tracey Causley: Email: clarence.canegrowers100years@gmail.com or Facebook: Clarence Canegrowers 100 Years Celebration
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What’s in the planning so far:
We’ll start over in River Street, with a float procession and we’ll be blocking off the street and coming through with floats from local organisations, sporting groups, local cane farming families, businesses – basically anyone who wants to put a ‘cane farming’ themed float through the procession.
We’re going to have a huge entertainment stage, over near the end of the Bowling Club carpark in Maclean. We’ve got marquees, Coopers Brewery setting up a separate designated alcohol zone as well as the Bowling Club setting up a zone outside, for people to access.
In the area between Cameron Park, IGA and the Bowling Club, we will have food trucks, market stalls, fete style activities – joining in with our local P&C associations from our local primary schools.
Then over in Cameron Park we are going to have a kids activity zone with jumping castle, face painting, kid’s games and activities and some entertainment.