In 1862, Fitzgerald moved to the colony of Queensland, Australia. He settled in Brisbane and, through his work, saw early experiments in growing sugar cane in Queensland's sub-tropical climate. In 1866, while surveying in Mackay, Queensland he established the Alexandra sugar cane plantation. Over time, he developed a further four plantations in the region. The Alexandra mill was notable as it introduced new efficiencies into sugar cane milling, making the farming of sugar cane more accessible to the small farmers who, until that point, had mainly farmed cotton and maize. Between 1865 and 1871 the land under sugar cultivation had increased from to . By 1876, this had increased to and by 1884 it had reached .