Sugar Cane Lane

This mural is a Babinda Taskforce and Babinda Museum initiative and tells the story of the sugarcane season; Shakey based his artwork off of real photographs so as to ensure historical accuracy. As well as enhancing the town's artwork, Sugar Cane Lane also beautifies a previously unused area.

From the Artist: With just one week to paint a 15 meter tribute piece, I chose to highlight the resilience of farmers and families from the pre-mechanization era. Back then, the horse and plough were essential, and sugar cane was meticulously cut by hand by cutter gangs working in harsh conditions. Not only was the work physically demanding, there was the added threat of infection and disease, particularly leptospirosis from rat urine commonly found in the cane fields. Smoking cigarettes in the field while sweating wasn't ideal!

Despite these challenges, the whole family often got involved - women hand-stripped the cane, and children, when not assisting, enjoyed sinking their teeth into fresh chunks of sugar cane.

The mural depicts a typical season in Babinda: cutting, milling, and replanting, concluding with the "slack" - a time for crop growth, maintenance and a chance for the lucky ones to take a holiday.