In 1888 Mr Richard Jones, who had been a farmer for eight years on the
Mossman, and was now a Produce Merchant in Port Douglas dealing principally in
maize, with about 400 tons passing through his hands annually, felt that the climate was not particularly suitable for this
crop. The average price per bushel was about 3s 6d with the average yield of about twenty-five bushels per acre.
He also dealt with around 8,000 bunches of bananas, 400-500 cases of mangoes, and smaller quantities of oranges, with
the mangoes going chiefly to Brisbane, Sydney and various other southern towns.