Old Mill

Statement of Significance

• The place has aesthetic value as a rare example of a stone and shingle industrial structure built in the 1830s in good condition.
• The place has aesthetic value as a landmark in the wider Perth metropolitan area in a prominent location.
• The place has historic value as one of the first wind driven flour mills in the state and demonstrates the early attempts of establishing industry and commerce in the community.
• The place has historic value for its association with early settlers and landowners; William Kernot Shenton and Edward Hamersley; local tradesmen, Paul and James Lockyer and William Steel; and entrepreneur, Thomas Satan Brown.
• The place has research value for its remaining elements and structure demonstrating wind driven mills in the early 19th century
• The place has social value for the community as demonstrated by the community resolve to save it from destruction in the 1950s when threatened by the construction of the Narrows Bridge.
• The place has social value as a place for education since the 1950s when it was developed as a museum which has been accessed by local, interstate and international visitors.

Physical Description

The Old Mill and Cottage (Former), is situated on the promontory of Point Belches in South Perth, alongside the Narrows Bridge.

The Old Mill is a traditional circular, stone structure, which has been plastered and painted / lime-washed, and tapers from the base to the tip of the shingled cap. The Mill is approximately 5.0 metres in diameter at the base, and 3.0 metres diameter at the roof line, with walls 600mm thick at the base and 450mm thick at the top. The wall height of the Mill is 8.0 metres over three storeys, with a 2.5 metre high roof above. A single storey entry building sits at the base of the southern aspect of the Mill, of similar painted limestone construction with gabled roof, clad with timber shingles. Small timber framed windows are placed at varying heights around the Mill with the loading doors on the west elevation, under the sales.

The roof of the Mill consists of a timber-framed cap sheeted externally with timber shingles without overhang or gutters. The cap dates from the 1957-59 restoration undertaken following its threat of demolition. The sales also date from this restoration phase.

Internally, the Mill has a contemporary concrete floor slab, housing the mechanism which supports and turns the sails. The mechanism is electrically driven. A modern wooden ladder leads to the cap level. There is a timber-framed window in the northern wall and two heavy timber ceiling beams remain from the original structure.

The middle level houses mill grinding machinery relocated from Chapman’s Mill in Busselton. It has three timber-framed windows and a door in the northern wall. Heavy timber beams in the ceiling supported the machinery above. The ground level has doorways in the northern and southern walls and three heavy timber beams in the ceiling to support the machinery above.

The single storey room to the south elevation of the Mill has been reduced in size and now measures 5m x 2m. A door in the southern wall of the Mill provides access to the room. The floor is concrete and the walls, much altered, are painted stonework. Two small windows in the eastern and western walls provide some light, with a slightly larger window in the southern wall. The roof comprises low pitched timber framing lined internally with painted metal sheeting with external timber shingles. This roof is a reconstruction dating from 1957-59 and since further restored.

The cottage, located approximately 8.5m to the north of the Mill, is a single storey brick building, measuring 12.5 x 6.0 metres. The building contains a main room with an open fireplace, with two smaller rooms leading off from the main space. A skillion-roofed kitchen at the northern end of the cottage is accessed through one of the small rooms. An open fireplace and bread oven project out from the northern wall of the kitchen. Both external and internal walls of the cottage have been rendered and painted. The external roof covering is replacement timber shingles. Floors throughout the Cottage are oiled timber boarding, some original. Windows and doors are timber, but not original. A timber framed awning protects the main entrance door in the western wall.

A small detached facilities block has been constructed to the north east corner of the Cottage and a 1980s building constructed to the south of the Mill used as an education centre. The grounds are predominantly lawn, populated with mature trees, with a timber picket fence around the Mill and Cottage.

History

The Mill component of the Old Mill and Cottage (Former) was the second Mill built by William Kernot Shenton on 4½ acres (1.8 ha) of land granted to him in April 1833. The present Mill was built in 1835 by millwrights, Paul and James Lockyer, and was operated by miller, William Rolf Steel, the business partner of William Shenton.

The Mill was developed on Point Belches because of its proximity to the Perth central business district and water transport between Fremantle and Guildford. ‘Miller’s Pool’, a large basin of water to the east of the Mill, had a 12.0 metre wide mouth to the river, and was then deep enough to provide mooring for small boats servicing the Mill. At its peak, the wind-driven mill produced 680 kg of flour per day. William Shenton sold the mill in 1840 to Edward Hamersley and the mill continued to operate under lease from Hamersley who had a house to the east of the mill. However, the Mill did not prove to be profitable, and stopped production in 1859. During this period a small brick cottage was built to the north of the Mill.

In 1870, South Perth resident, Thomas Satan Brown leased the buildings and converted them into a hotel and picnic ground called the ‘Alta Gardens’. He added verandahs to encircle the Mill and a viewing platform on the top. The project did not succeed and the site was later used as a residence, wine saloon and poultry farm until resumed by the Government in 1929 from the owner Walter Green to mark the centenary of Foundation.

In the late 1950s, the Old Mill and Cottage (Fmr) were threatened with demolition by the construction of the Kwinana Freeway, but were saved due to the intervention of local residents, the historical society and the Minister for Works, John Tonkin. The Old Mill and Cottage (Fmr) were granted to the City of South Perth to commemorate the centenary of the founding of Local Government in South Perth in 1892. The buildings and site were repaired and upgraded by Brisbane and Wunderlich and maintained as a folk museum from 1957 until vested in the National Trust in 1992.

In 1994-95, the Old Mill was restored to a close approximation of its appearance in the 1830s. The verandahs surrounding the mill were removed and the cottage’s corrugated iron roof cladding was replaced with shingles.

In February 2017, the reinstated Miller’s Pool was opened by the City of South Perth Mayor. The project was part of a wider strategy of foreshore works with a strong focus on sustainable design and indigenous associations with the site. The urban design also included interpretive links to the Old Mill and Cottage (fmr).

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate / Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.