Ageston Sugar Plantation was a sugar plantation established in 1866 on the Logan River at Alberton, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was one of a number of early plantations which pioneered the region's sugar industry.
History
John Stevens
Ageston plantation was established on the south bank of the Logan River by John Stevens in 1866. John Stevens was born in Maine, USA, and came to Australia in 1835, involving himself in squatting and then cotton and sugar cultivation. Ageston was selected under the Regulations for the Cultivation of Sugar and Coffee of 1864 and 1866, and later brought under the Crown Lands Act of 1868. The original Ageston holding comprised a 320-acre block (Portion 2) of native forest and swamp. Fifty acres of cotton was grown, but following a poor yield Stevens turned to sugarcane, planting out 60 acres. A comfortable house set within gardens and orchards was built upon a hill that was the highest point on the estate. Like most of the sugar estates of the district, Ageston depended heavily on indentured South Sea Island labour. In November 1868 the plantation relied wholly on the labour of eight South Sea Islanders who managed two bullock teams and four horses, and this workforce was expected to increase when the cane had to be harvested. There was a horse-drawn mill to crush the cane and a wharf enabled steamers to regularly collect the sugar for market and bring in supplies.
Despite the soil largely being white, impoverished sand eroding from a sandstone substrate, the plantation proved highly productive, mostly because of the excellent drainage and presence of aquifers and springs. The plantation was also among the most favourably situated in the district, having a north easterly aspect, and being close enough to the mouth of the river to receive a mild coastal climate that mitigated against frost and extremes of heat but still being adequately sheltered.
In 1868 a correspondent for The Brisbane Courier visited the site and described the various improvements made:
A good split-rail fence had been erected round the cultivation. There are also six pig paddocks, of about two acres each, close paled (occupied by nearly sixty pigs), and the garden has been considerably enlarged. A new cotton shed had been built, which is to be turned into a tobacco shed eventually-a small patch of which is being tried, and a large kitchen next the house has also been finished. A stable for six horses is in course of erection. I noticed that the garden is kept in first rate order, and it is not too much to say that it is not only the largest, but the most orderly and comprehensive I have seen in tho district. I saw coffee, chicory, and earth nuts, near the common European garden produce of beans, peas, onions, and carrots, all looking well, whilst the large hedges of passion fruit were loaded, and the grapes, of several varieties, without any symptom of disease. There are also some young cocoa-nuts, yams, and other South Sea Island produce. Near a spring I saw the celebrated taro, of which the Islanders are so fond, and which is a water lily looking plant. The cassava does well, and there is a large patch near another patch of arrowroot, both of which Mr Stevens makes into meal for home use. Then there is the pawpaw from the Islands, which is thriving well, as well as lots of other choice and rare fruits and trees. I was told Mrs Stevens was the gardener, and l am sure she must take great pains, and every credit must be awarded her for her varied selection of flowers. On the left of the garden is a huge rabbit pen, where rabbits are bred and reared for the table at an almost incredible rate, the climate and food of young sorghum, maize, sow-thistle etc., being so favourable. Next (sic) these the fowls are lodged and kept as another indispensable for a farmer's wife. In walking round here I was shown a long hedge of Cape thorn, which seems to be well adapted for plantation fences, as what I saw was quite cattle-proof, and with attention this thorn could soon be trained to suit almost all fencing purposes. Mr. Stevens had just made a cockatoo fence at first, and then planted the Cape thorn seeds. It fruits almost like an orange, but it is worthless for eating.
Other observations at this time were: