HORSEMILLS /
HUMAN POWERED MILLS /
TIDEMILLS /
WATERMILLS - BATTERIES
WATERMILLS - FLOUR /
WATERMILLS - SAWMILLS /
WATERMILLS - OTHER
WINDMILLS - FLOUR /
WINDMILLS - OTHER
Please note that these watermills are restricted to those powered by water wheels - undershot, overshot, breastshot & Pelton. They do not include water turbines.
New South Wales /
Queensland /
South Australia /
Tasmania
Victoria /
Western Australia
Joseph PEMMELL set up a paper and cardboard mill at Holsworthy, near the junction of the Williams and Harris Creeks in the 1860's. The mill was converted to a flour mill and later a wool wash run by Thomas WOODWARD, before being destroyed by fire in the 1880's.
By 1857 the former flour mill of Andrew BROWN at his 'Cooerwull' estate was re-equipped to become a woollen mill. He encouraged a Scottish family of weavers to emigrate and assist with the mills operation. A wool wash was built and machinery to make tweeds was developed. The wool mill was operational until 1875 when a new mill was built at the site. Until 1896 a water wheel and steam engine provided the power. The mill ceased operation in 1972. It is yet to be established over what period exactly the water wheel was used.
The Lowden Forest Park waterwheel is located roughly halfway between Captain's Flat and Braidwood. Logging contractors set up a camp there in the 1930's and an old waterwheel was used to charge the batteries of their logging trucks and to generate limited electricity. In 1952 the overshot waterwheel was returned to the site, restored and in full working order. The waterwheel was evidently used at an earlier time to power a sawmill in the Captain's Flat area.
There was a waterwheel on "Hill Top" on Tantawanglo River - Tantawanglo, near Bega. Its purpose and date is not known. view image
The Bluff River watermill at Tenterfield was later destroyed by railway works. It is not known what the watermill was used for. view 1868 image
TOPA large waterwheel was in operation on a banana plantation near Buderim in the 1920's. Purpose not known.view image.
George Burrows, assisted by Tom McClintock and Price Jones, built this waterwheel on his Buderim property in 1898. 15.24 meters (50 feet) in diameter, it was used mainly to power a chaff-cutter and corn cracker and functioned for over 25 years.1917 image. Note, this may be the same as the previous Buderim entry.
There was a waterwheel at Cedar Creek in circa 1896. Its usage is not known. image 1 | image 2
A chaffcutter was powered by a wooden waterwheel operated by an artesion bore c1910.
A Pelton wheel was used to drive a 15 stand shearing shed in the early years of the twentieth century.
A Pelton wheel driven by an artesian bore was used to run 20 shearing stands at Murweh station at least in the period c1906 - 1910. Water pressure of about 38 pounds through a 50mm nozzle drove a wheel that was 76cm in diameter by 23cm wide. At that time the station was shearing about 30,000 sheep. The station is 70 kilometres south of Charleville.
In circa 1872, miners on the tinfields at Stanthorpe used a Californian pump to divert and drain water from their workings. A large wheel was turned by two men and was used to drive a canvas belt with wooden blocks attached. Water was brought to the surface by the pressure of these blocks as they passed upward through a rectangular wooden pipe. Although it was an ingenious invention, it was unable to cope with the large amount of soakage encountered in the Stanthorpe swamps. It was also extremely expensive to run.view image
In 1898 a Pelton wheel driven by an artesian bore powered a generator.
TOPThe Benjamin VARCOE family at 'Millbank' near Mt Graham had a 210cm wide by 3.5 metre diameter waterwheel built by Albert HAINES in 1910 which was used to power a saw bench, chaff cutter and shearing plant.
TOPIn 1822 William SHOOBRIDGE arrived in Van Diemen's Land with some hops. He is credited with being the first person to grow hops in Tasmania although there are other claims. In 1867 Ebenezer SHOOBRIDGE came to the Styx valley and began growing and processing hops. With a combination of religious zeal and hard nosed capitalism he managed to make Bushy Park the largest producer of hops in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Behind the town is a 3 kilometre water race he built which takes water from a dam on the Styx River and runs it to the Oast House. The water was used to drive a huge waterwheel which generated electricity to dry the hops. It is claimed that Bushy Park had electricity before Hobart.
The Cascade Brewery was established in 1834. The three storey stone building had a waterwheel beside it. view image
The watermill and other buildings at this restored tourist attraction were originally built by the Gatenby family at Barton, 60km from Launceston in the 1820's - 1830's. In 1972 they were dismantled and moved stone by stone to their present site. There is also a windmill, cornmill, gunpowder mill and paddleboat.
An eastern Launceston suburb made famous by the woollen mills which carried its name. The mill is now part of Launceston's tourist attractions. First opened in 1874 it obtained power from a 7.5 metre waterwheel in Distillery Creek.
It is not known what this water wheel was used for. view image
In c1895 a butter factory was erected but was burned down in c1903. It is not known what power source was used for the original factory, but the new factory, built the year after the fire, used a waterwheel with auxilliary engines. Water came from a small weir across the Falls Creek built about 100 metres above the factory and down through a channel and over a 3 metre diameter by 1.8metre wide wheel. This second factory was also burnt down.
TOPCarl Axel NOBELIUS planted 40 hectares of New Zealand flax at his property in Emerald. In the valley below the field a water powered mill, which operated from 1913 to 1926 processed the flax. The mill dam was the source of Emerald Lake.
- see - flour mills.
John HOLLAND constructed a water powered chaffcutter in circa 1883 on the Watts River at Glen Watts.
This overshot waterwheel was in use at Narbethong House in circa 1930. view image
A hydro-electric plant was built on the Cobungra River near Omeo in the early 1900's, to supply power to the mine at Cassilis.
It is not known what this waterwheel was used for. In 1984 it was displayed beside the Omeo Courthouse. view image
There was a watermill at Plenty River in 1880. Its purpose is not known.view image
It is not known what this waterwheel was used for. view image
There was a large undershot waterwheel on the Yarra River at Warrandyte in 1925. It is not known what it was used for, though there is a possibility that it is connected to the YARRA TUNNELLING Co. In c1877 they operated a water powered crushing plant on the north bank of the Yarra River. 1900 image | c1910 image
TOPSpring water from a nearby swamp was run along wooden troughing to a 2.1 metre diameter overshot water wheel driving a hydraulic ram. This was erected 1n 1895 by local timber merchants DAVIES & WISHART to pump spring water 150 metres to the lighthouse cottages. This system was replaced by a windmill in 1928. The wheel is now covered by lime deposits. 1956 image | 1992 image | 2008 image
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