CANECUTTER TO RECALL HIS SWEET PAST AT RESORT

THE history of hardworking Douglas Shire canecutters and farmers will be celebrated at a lavish Far North resort they helped build.

At a special Harvest Feast at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort to

launch the series, Peter Verri, whose family arrived in Australia from Lu in Northern Italy in 1923, told of when cane was harvested and taken by train to ships at the Port Douglas Sugar Wharf “and getting paid four quid a week to hand cut cane on the weekends”. Mr Verri and his father

helped fertilise the 147ha of lush tropical gardens at the iconic resort, also opening the first bottle shop in Mossman affectionately known as the “2 Quart Barrel Shop”.

He will share stories that pay homage to the hard-working canecutters and farmers of days gone

by, Sheraton’s marketing boss Deb Mcdiarmid said.

“We have made a serious commitment to bring these stories forward and share with our guests,” she said. The resort hosts events in partnership with the Douglas Shire Historical Society.

Mossman cane farmer Peter Verri, Sheraton marketing director Deb Mcdiarmid and author Pam Willis Burden at the launch event.