Mill Site and Other Buildings

The Mill Site

The Big Mill, a double gabled open sided shed housing the No. 1 and No. 2 mills, was built on Wellington Location No. 1904 in 1900, adjacent to the Ferguson River.

On Thursday March 21, 1901 the publisher and editor of the proposed Twentieth Century Impressions of Western Australia, a showcase publication of Western Australian government and businesses, visited Bunbury to collect information on local business activity. The Wellington Saw Mills were photographed and the images shown below were published the following year. These are the earliest known photographs of the mill site and show what a large operation it was.

Company Stores

The mill company built four stores in the town. These are shown below. The Mill Store sold groceries to the residents. Behind that and along the railway line were the butcher, baker, and the oil store that kept oils, grease, nuts and bolts for Millars use only.

View of Wellington Mills taken from above the conveyor, just north of the Mill, c 1910. The company shops are shown to the left of the rail line. From front to back, they are the Mill Store (general store), a butcher shop, bakery, and oil store (hardware). On the right of the rail line are the workshops with the blacksmith shop in the foreground. Behind the company stores, sits a row of private shops and boarding houses.

References:

  • Calcei, J, Wellington Mills – a History, 4th ed. (2008), South West Printing & Publishing, Bunbury, Western Australia.
  • P W H Thiel & Co, Twentieth Century Impressions of Western Australia, (1902). Republished by Hesperian Press (2000)