Brazilian pocket rocket to give cane cutting competition a chop

“I spent my childhood at my cousin’s house, jumping the fence to get into the neighbouring cane fields to play hide and seek with my cousins,” says Barb Roberts, a 33-year-old now living in Brisbane.

“I remember snapping off pieces of cane for a sweet treat. We’d peel them with our mouths and chew them as we walked home to Grandma’s.”

It’s a childhood that wouldn’t sound out of place in the Burdekin, but Barb’s upbringing happened a world away from North Queensland.

The Queensland Sugar Limited (QSL) Trading Analyst was born in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo and spent her school holidays in Piracicaba – the heart of the centre-south’s cane growing region.

“I remember driving down the road and seeing them cutting the cane with knives. The sugar cane industry was big in that area.”

She left the world of sugar behind when she moved for her tertiary studies, but now many years later, Barb is getting back to her sugar cane roots.

The Brazilian pocket rocket has entered the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships, representing QSL in the inaugural Corporate Challenge on Saturday 1 June.

“When I began with QSL eight months ago in Brisbane, I had a chance to go to Bundaberg and be in the cane fields again. It was really nostalgic for me, so when I heard about this competition, I wanted to be a part of it.

“I’ve never cut cane before and I’m only little, so I don’t know if I have the strength, but our team is going to work hard – and hopefully win!”

The Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships, presented by QSL, gets underway at the Home Hill Showgrounds from 11am on Saturday 1 June.

Nominations for the seven different divisions are currently open.

To nominate, visit http://bit.ly/AHCCCreg, phone Burdekin Shire Council’s Tourism Department on (07) 4783 9800 or email . Competitors can also nominate on the day.

A Cutters Muster will be held prior to event to provide young and new competitors the chance to learn skills from experienced hand cane cutters.

The championships is one of three events making up this year’s Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival between 30 May and 1 June.

For more information, visit www.sweetdayshotnights.com.au.