Other Watermills that can be seen in Australia
Where to See Other Historic Flour Watermills in Australia
Singleton Mills homepage > Visit an Historic Australian Mill > Visit Other Historic Watermills
Mills were urgently needed to grind flour when Australia was first settled by Europeans. Unfortunately, watercourses with enough water to power a watermill proved to be scarce, except in Tasmania, and some parts of Victoria. So, windmills were often used in the early decades.
Even the watermills that did succeed often have few remains left today, such as the mill shown below. Over the years, most were impacted by fires and floods, and the giant wooden waterwheels rotted away.
Above, the Janefield Flour Mill on the Plenty River in Victoria. Detail from a painting by John Black Henderson in about 1860, National Library of Australia. In 2017, Gary Vines, in 'Mills of the Plenty', stated that this mill had mostly disappeared, except for portions of two walls that were built into the hillside.
Nevertheless, in special locations across Australia, intact watermill buildings can still be seen.
On our Best Historic Australian Mills webpage, SingletonMills presents stories of eight outstanding, rare flour watermills, windmills and steam mills where a visitor can still experience the craft of traditional flour milling in Australia.
On this page we list Other Historic Australian Watermills that do not, to our knowledge, present detailed information on flour milling. However, the visitor does have the chance to view these wonderful old buildings either from the road, or in some cases, by patronising the businesses currently using the buildings.
See also our pages describing Other Windmills, and Other Steam-Powered Mills.
OTHER AUSTRALIAN WATERMILLS
Bridgewater Mill, Bridgewater, South Australia.
Location: 386 Mount Barker Rd, Bridgewater, 20 km southeast of Adelaide.
Key people: John Dunn, J Standen and FP Knight.
Above, the Bridgewater Mill with its impressive iron waterwheel in South Australia. Image by Russell King.
This watermill was built in 1860, and then rebuilt in 1910 after a devastating fire. More information about the Bridgewater Watermill.
In recent years it has been used as a restaurant and for weddings. Unfortunately, in 2024 it is closed for renovations "for the foreseeable future". However, parts of the building, and possibly the mill's beautiful 11 m diameter, 26 tonne, iron waterwheel, may be visible from the road.
Monds Mill, Carrick, Tasmania.
Location: 67 Meander Valley Road, Carrick, 200 km north of Hobart.
Key people: William Bryan, Samuel Pratt Winter, John Kinder Archer, Thomas Wilkes Monds, and T Affleck
Above, the charming old Monds Miill at Carrick, Tasmania, now run as an antiques shop. Image by Carrick Mill Antiques.
This is a four-level, bluestone mill built in about 1846 as a watermill. In early days, it was known as Bryan's Mill or Carrick Mills. In 1867, the mill had three pairs of millstones. In the 1880s, two American water turbines were installed to replace the waterwheel, and the mill's six pairs of millstones were replaced by roller mills from England. This mill operated until 1923, making it the last water-powered mill to operate in Tasmania. More information about the Monds Mill.
The building now houses the Carrick Mill Antiques shop:
Riversdale Mill, Swansea, Tasmania.
Location: Tasman Highway, 8 km north of Swansea, 140 km northeast of Hobart.
Key people: George Meredith, John Amos, William Gibson, John Keefer.
Above, the Facebook page of the Riversdale Mill in Tasmania, now run as an events venue.
This small two-storey brick watermill was built between 1838 and 1844. In 1861, the mill had two pairs of millstones. More information about the Riversdale Mill -- see page 146.
A photo posted on the Riversdale Mill Facebook Page in 2020 shows the mill's huge wooden waterwheel. The building is now (2024) a performance and events venue.
See also the Anderson's Mill, Smeaton, Victoria, featured on our list of 'The Eight Best Historic Australian Mills'.
AT ANOTHER RARE SITE THAT IS WORTH A VISIT, the original water turbines that once powered a flour mill can be seen:
Dights Mill, Collingwood, Victoria
Location: Dights Mill Reserve, off Tenerry Crescent, Abbotsford, 5 km northeast of Melbourne
Key people: John and Charles Dight; Alexander and RW Gillespie, Aitken and Scott (Yarra Falls Roller Flour Mills).
Above, two original water turbines from the Yarra Falls Mill, that can still be seen in Dights Falls Reserve in Victoria. Image by Joel Yong.
Mills on this site were also known as the Yarra Falls Mill or the Ceres Flour Mill. A watermill with a waterwheel was originally built there in 1841 and a weir was built over the Yarra River across a natural basalt bar.
In 1888, the Yarra Falls Roller Flour Mills built a new mill here, with twin water turbines. Water turbines, developed in the 1880s, could power a mill using water from a river and were much more powerful than the earlier water wheel systems. At the time, this was the largest water-power system in Victoria. More information about Dights Mill.
Two of the mill's original water turbines can still be seen in the Turbine House, a short walk from the carpark in the Dights Mill Reserve. These are amongst the few surviving examples of historic flour mill water turbines in Australia.
Above, the location of the Turbine House (red arrow) containing two original water turbines from the Yarra Falls Roller Flour Mill. This building is a short walk from the carpark (marked 'P') in the Dights Falls Reserve in Abbotsford, Victoria.
In this set of webpages, we present a guide to the best places in Australia to see an historic flour mill:
SingletonMills Guide to Old Flour Mills in Australia-- Introduction to Australia's Old Mills -- The Eight Best Historic Australian Mills displaying our milling history. The following mills do not house milling displays, to our knowledge, but their buildings are intact and they can be readily viewed from the road or street. -- Other Watermills (this page) |
If you know of another historic Australian flour mill on public display that you would like us to add to these lists, please Contact Us.
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