Flour has a long history in the Inverell district. From the early 1860s, when Colin Ross established the first steam flour mill by the river, Inverell had several mills which processed locally grown wheat.
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Most of the flour was consumed by district residents until demand from southern Queensland increased sales during the 1890s. By 1912, Messrs Howard, Gillespie and McIntosh planned to build a new flour mill near the railway station in Ring Street.
They applied to the council for permission to have a rail line cross the road to connect their proposed mill with the railway. The four-storey brick mill, with modern equipment from England, was eventually opened in 1914. Up to 40 people were employed in its early days.
By 1929, the mill was upgraded with the latest milling machinery imported from England, including electrical moisture testing equipment. Engines were coal fired to supply power to the plant. The Inverell Times, October 2, 1929, described the mill’s four floors as ‘a maze of elevators, shoots, blowers, belting and machinery.’
The Inverell Times, October 2, 1929, described the mill’s four floors as ‘a maze of elevators, shoots, blowers, belting and machinery.’
The new equipment, whilst needing less labour, was more efficient as one machine could do the work of three, thus reducing the cost of production.
This may have been when the huge Oregon timber silo was built in the iron shed behind the brick building. The wheat storage shed had a machine for cleaning seed wheat and could store 100,000 bags.
Wheat was moved from the pit storage shed by conveyor to the top of the mill where it fell by gravity to the warehouse separator. After processing and before being bagged, the flour passed through fine silk mesh. It was sold under the brand name of ‘Millennium’.
By 1933 the mill was working three shifts per day to meet orders from China and Hong Kong. The weekly output was 150 tons of flour as well as 63 tons bran and pollard for the poultry industry.
Fire damaged the building in April 1949, and by the end of the year the decision was made to close the mill. The site was purchased by produce merchants, Campbell Bros, and the brick building repaired.
In addition to wheat, the mill was then used to grade and store a variety of locally grown grains as well as other agricultural products.
Though the mill sat without activity for several years, it found a rebirth when a local family commenced organic flour and pollard production on the site more recently, and Inverell can again purchase locally- produced flour.