The term Kanaka (from the French Canaque, and Hawaiian Kanak meaning man), perhaps once derogatory is nowadays worn as a badge of honour. Perhaps for their tenacity and perseverance, the Australian South Sea Islanders achieved an untouchable status, which unfortunately was not afforded to the native Aboriginals of the time. While some Islanders and Aborigines inter-bred at Joskeleigh, the last of the indigenous Darumbals living there were removed by the State in 1930.
As an interesting point of closure to the history of the mill, the manager of Farnborough Sugar Plantation, Rutherford Armstrong, died in 1958 at age 97. In accordance with his expressed wish, his ashes were scattered on the old mill site.
Forestry
Recent history
World War II
During World War 2, around 30,000 US Soldiers were stationed on the Capricorn Coast, most notably at Thompson's Point where efforts by the Capricorn Coast Historical Society are underway to ensure the survival of this piece of history. At nearby Nerimbera is St Christopher's Chapel which was built by US Soldiers during the war, and has been restored to its original condition.
Pineapples
Shoalwater Bay
With Australia's entry into the Vietnam War, the Australian Army took control of Shoalwater Bay, Townshend Island, and a large tract abutting Byfield for use as a military training facility. This area was named the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area. In 1966, the last civilians vacated their holdings there. While the "military invasion" of the pristine wilderness area was unpopular with many, some humanitarian observers saw the eviction of white landowners as ironic justice for their ancestors' eviction of the Aboriginal population a century before.
Iwasaki resort
In 1971, a Japanese syndicate headed by Yohachiro Iwasaki acquired hundreds of thousands of hectares of beachfront land including wetlands near Farnborough to
