South Perth Old Mill
In 1829 a young engineer, William Shenton, arrived in the Swan River Colony, bringing with him machinery for a sawmill. He soon realised there was a need for a flour mill to allow more efficient grinding of the wheat imported for the growing population. He constructed a horse powered flour mill from timber at Fremantle.
Wheat began to be grown locally and in 1833 he designed a wooden windmill for a more convenient site on the South Perth peninsula. The mill was built by Paul and James Lockyer and incorporated equipment from the original Fremantle mill. To provide a stronger and more secure structure a new mill was built at the same site in 1835. This was constructed from limestone blocks, with the heavy cog wheels being made from local tuart timber. The foundation stone was laid at a ceremony conducted with Governor James Stirling. Lockyer and Son were again the builders. A cottage was built on the site in 1837.
The mill produced a peak of 1,500lb (680kg) of flour per day and operated until 1859. Since then its various uses have included a hotel, residence, wine saloon and poultry farm. In 1973 it was classified by the National Trust for its cultural heritage significance.
The mill and cottage are now recognised as the oldest surviving links with the earliest days of settlement of the Colony. The buildings are reputed to be Australia’s second oldest flour mill and Perth’s oldest residence.
They were most recently renovated in 2020 by the City of South Perth. An article from the Southern Gazette dated 22 February 2021 describing the conservation works and history of the site is available here.
More information on the mill and cottage including opening hours is available from the City of South Perth Website.
