In 1873, William Henry Hyne and George Francis (Frank) Bridgman,
owners of Lake Elphinstone and Fort Cooper stations purchased
five small blocks with a total area of 12.14 ha on the eastern
side of Nebo Road. Additional land brought the total area to
60.7 hectares. Here they developed a small plantation, Balmoral,
and its mill, which stood on the site of the Sugar Research
Institute and began crushing in October 1873. Cane from
neighbouring farms was also crushed. Hyne replaced his Bourbon
cane with Black Java, which was a smaller plant with greater
sugar content. In the 1874 season this replacement cane yielded
almost three tons of sugar per acre, nearly twice the yield of
Bourbon. When Hyne and Bridgman bought the larger Meadowlands
Mill to the west of the lagoons in 1878, they transferred
operations to that mill, and Balmoral closed. Its machinery was
used in the construction of Marian Mill in 1882. Following the
acquisition of Meadowlands, Hyne and his wife Phoebe Margaret
(nee Smith), built their home "B