Proserpine cane farmer honours cane cutting tradition

Proserpine cane farmer Lindsay Altmann took his family to the Burdekin on Sunday to participate in a landmark competition that pays tribute to the strong men of yesteryear.

Just days out from the finish of the crush and in the midst of an extremely turbulent time for Proserpine growers, the Altmanns made the effort to travel the 170km north to the Australian cane cutting invitational event to field a strong side for Proserpine - with members from their family alone.

Before mechanical harvesting was introduced, teams of men used to go from cane farm to cane farm cutting the burned cane by hand and it is to pay tribute to this back-breaking line of work that this competition was introduced.

One such man who was skilled in this toilsome craft was Lindsay’s father Eric whom his son says was a “gun cutter”.

“The harvester started on our farm in 1969, so before that my old man used to contract cut plant. So right from when I was old enough - 10, 11 years old - I used to go plant cutting with him. I just used to follow behind and cut the last drill … you learn without really knowing you are learning,” Lindsay said.

Altmann senior was also no stranger to the competitor’s circle, winning four or five Australian championships in a row during the late 60s.

“But just like me, my old man didn’t do it for the glory of winning. He did it because he was proud and loved what he did,” he said.

Lindsay and his wife Denise took their three sons Callum, Joel and Karl to the event in the hope the tradition would continue.

“What I worry about is I am 50 ... so where are we going to be in 10 years time when there is no one still capable of cutting who actually did it for a living!

“Once that happens – the competition dies, and I’d love to pass this tradition on to my kids, just like my old man did for me,” he said.

The Australian cane cutting invitational event was held in conjunction with the Home Hill Harvest Festival.

    Attracting around 100 people, it was the first year it had been held in town, usually taking place in a rural landscape on the farm some 80km west of Ayr at a place called 
Dalbeg.