Just an hour’s drive south of Townsville, the Burdekin district is the sugar capital of Australia and is one of the most prosperous rural communities in the country. The shire’s two main towns are Ayr and Home Hill.

The Burdekin is famous for its wealth of water. Local farms are drought-proof because of the mighty Burdekin River, the huge reserves of the Burdekin Falls Dam and a massive underground aquifer which lies just 10 metres below the surface.

This ‘liquid gold’ allows Burdekin farmers to produce the biggest and sweetest sugar cane in Australia, as well as mangoes, melons, capsicums, zucchinis, tomatoes and many other small crops.