[1] Sugar cane was first brought to Australia in 1788, but subsequent plantings at Sydney, Port Macquarie and Norfolk Island failed to be commercially viable.

Land bounded by the North Coast railway line on the west and Gympie Road on the east was purchased for a mill site at the small settlement of Nambour.

[1] In order for the mill to be successful, it was essential to establish an efficient means for bringing the harvested cane in from surrounding farms to be crushed.

A two-foot gauge was chosen for the sake of economy, speed not being an important factor in the running of the tramway, though the wagons were at first pulled by horses.

In 1897 the first tramlines were constructed east to Perrin's Barn and west to the foot of the Perwillowen Range and the first harvest was crushed at the mill.

[1] Establishing tramways proved expensive due to the nature of the terrain and there were consequent difficulties with the supply of cane to the mill, though by 1905, there were 26 miles (42 km) of permanent tramline in use.

[1] Two short sections of line to the north were built, but a shortage of steel and labour during and after WWI caused problems with expansion.

Land in the Mt Coolum Beach Estate went to auction the month after the tramway from Nambour was officially opened on 22 November 1923.

After the war, the tramlines west of Nambour, bought by Maroochy Shire in 1914, ceased running and the mill purchased the line and locos.

These bins entered the "full yard" from where they were progressed by hydraulic pushers into a tippler machine to discharge their cargo before returning to the fields.

the British company of Tate and Lyle acquired the mill as a wholly owned subsidiary when it took over Bundaberg Sugar in 1991.

As it is very important that cane is crushed soon after harvesting to maintain its sugar content, this had an adverse effect on the functioning of the mill.

The section of line covered by this entry represents its use as a transport system for both cane and passengers and as an unusual feature of the Nambour for which the town is well known.

[1] The Nambour Section of the Moreton Central Sugar Mill Cane Tramway was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 February 2005 having satisfied the following criteria.

It was a key factor in the development of Nambour and the Maroochy Shire and important in the growth of the sugar industry in Queensland.