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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
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Mills and windmills

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Mills and windmills

Subject

Lucas, Nathaniel

Sydney Flour Mills before 1850

Windmills of Sydney

Challenge Woollen Mills

Globe Mills

The Rocks Windmill festival 2013

Weston Milling

Baughan, John

Hough, Henry

Leighton, John

Arndell's windmill

Boston's Mill

Charles Gordon's horse mill

Clarkson's mill

Craigend Mill

First Government Water Mill, Parramatta

Girard's windmill, Woolloomooloo

Gordon's mill

Government Mill

Hough's Windmill

Kable's mill

Kirkham mill

Lachlan Mill

Lord's Mill

Marsden's mill

Military windmill

Palmer's Mill

Singleton's Water Mill

Woronora Mill

Buildings on the west of Sydney Cove c1811

Camden village, Sydney in 1842, showing Kirkham windmill and the Cowpastures

Citadel at Sydney c1825

Cockle Bay, now Darling Harbour c1819-20

Detail from 'Sydney in All Its Glory', a view of Sydney Cove from Dawes Point, c1817

Detail of the eastern side of the town from 'Plan de la ville de Sydney' 1802

Detail showing the area around the mouth of the Tank Stream from panoramic view of Sydney 1829

Detail showing windmills from key to Eyre's view of Sydney Cove from the west c1809

First Government House and Boston's Mill, c1803

First government house and Boston's Mill c1800

Gordon's Mill, Paddington 18 December 1859

Howells' Mill Parramatta, 1849

Jenkens Mill, Darlinghurst 1862

Millers Point and Dawes Point coastline 1832

Millers Point c1845

Mount Gilead windmill from the homestead 1888

North View of Sydney New South Wales, taken from the North Shore 1822

Old Windmill, Government Domain c1836

Panorama Darlinghurst c1836

Panorama of Darlinghurst c1836

Paramatta River Sydney Harbour c1819-21

Ruins of windmill tower on Hope Farm, Cattai c1950s

Singleton's Mill - Hawkesbury River 1879

Sketch of the coast from Darling Harbour to Elizabeth Bay: showing the grants to Mr McLeay and six other gentlemen. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 16th July 1832

Sydney Barracks and Military Windmill, 1817

Sydney Church and Regimental Mile from the Main Guard c1817

Sydney Cove, West side, 1810

Sydney Gaol c1810

Sydney Port Jackson, New South Wales, taken from the Rocks on the western side of the Cove, c1803

Sydney St Phillip - Government windmill Cumberland St. The yellow shews the altered line of street, the part coloured Red, Josh Prosser's allotment 1829

Sydney from Darlinghurst c1818

Sydney from Surry Hills 1819

Sydney from the North Shore 1827

Sydney from the North Shore c1817

Sydney from the Parramatta Road 1819

Sydney looking south from Flagstaff Hill c1821

The Macquarie Place obelisk, Government House and windmills in the Domain c1821

The first government windmill 1797

The old mill at Mt Gilead near Campbell Town, NSW 1913

View from Flagstaff Hill, Sydney c1844

View from Sydney of the Haunted Mill in Cockle Bay 1832

View of Sydney from the east side of the Cove c1811

View of part of Sydney c1804

View of part of Wooloomooloo and Mr Barker's house and mills with Bradleys Point 1844

Windmill, old South Head Road, Sydney 26 August 1868

Woolloomooloo, Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay 1832

The Miller at the Point, from These Walls Have Ears: My Place, 2013

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Mills and windmills

Lucas, Nathaniel

Convict, carpenter, miller, trader and family man, Nathaniel Lucas made good in the colony and founded a large family.

Sydney Flour Mills before 1850

Wheat was a staple European food and the British brought it to Australia in 1788 expecting it be the basis of their diet. Before it could be consumed, however, the grain needed to be ground into flour, so flour milling became an immediate and necessary secondary industry in the colony.

Windmills of Sydney

In the late eighteenth century, and well into the nineteenth century, the tallest structures around Sydney Cove were windmills. They left few physical remains, yet their presence left a lasting legacy in early colonial landscape art and the minds and hearts of many contemporaries.

Challenge Woollen Mills

Paper mill on the Georges River which was converted to woolen mills. Part of the building has been retained in the current residential development.

full record »

Globe Mills

Four storey mill which conducted all processes from wool scouring to garment construction before closing after World War II. Recently converted to apartments.

full record »

The Rocks Windmill festival 2013

Festival event created by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority between 12 April and 12 May 2013 in a temporary four storey timber windmill in Rocks Square on the site of an early Sydney mill. The windmill acted as an educational workshop and performance venue over the festival period.

full record »

Weston Milling

Flour milling company which diversified into compound feeds, concentrates and nutritional services for agriculture.

full record »

Baughan, John

Millwright and carpenter who arrived in Sydney as a convict on the Friendship in the First Fleet. He designed and built a successful functional grinding mill, using a treadmill model operated by 9 men in March 1794.

full record »

Hough, Henry

Farmer who operated one of the last windmills in Sydney on his property Hope Farm, Waverley.

full record »

Leighton, John

Emancipist who owned three windmills at Millers Point.

full record »

Arndell's windmill

Stone mill built with convict labour for Thomas Arndell in about 1804 on his property at Cattai on the Hawkesbury River. The surviving parts of the mill and associated granary buildings are probably the oldest industrial structures in Australia. The mill is identified in McGarvie's 1829 list of place names used by the local Aboriginal people as 'Daili' which has two possible meanings: ‘eat/hungry for dry stuff’ and ‘that! that one!’.

full record »

Boston's Mill

full record »

Small timber windmill constructed by Commisary John Palmer that he operated along with the government bakery on land in the present-day upper Botanic Gardens. The mill is referred to as 'Boston's' in an early map. Palmer also had another stone windmill 'Palmer's Mill' nearby. The timber mill and bakehouse were resumed by Macquarie in 1815 and demolished.

Charles Gordon's horse mill

A horse mill for one or two horses in Upper Pitt Street owned by Charles Gordon in 1825.

full record »

Clarkson's mill

First windmill in Darlinghurst, erected by merchant Thomas Clarkson c1819.

full record »

Craigend Mill

full record »

Windmill adjacent to Craigend mansion, Darlinghurst, but not associated with that estate.

First Government Water Mill, Parramatta

Mill built at Mays Hill on the upper reaches of the Parramatta River about 1792 by Thomas Allen. It would appear to have been in use briefly in 1793, but it was unreliable and frequently broke down so was largely unused. Rebuilt in 1804, it was still fairly unsuccessful and was destroyed in 1820.

full record »

Girard's windmill, Woolloomooloo

Stone windmill built for Francois Girard on South Head Road, close to Thomas Barker's windmill.

full record »

Gordon's mill

full record »

Stone and post mill situated on the ridge near the corner of Stewart and Gordon streets at Paddington which operated from about 1829 until the 1870s.

Government Mill

Third government windmill which stood in front of Fort Phillip which was built for Governor King by Nathaniel Lucas. It was described as an octagonal smock mill with propellers rotating on a post to gain the best advantage from prevailing winds.

full record »

Hough's Windmill

Windmill operated by Henry Hough c1841-1879 on his Waverley property Hope Farm.

full record »

Kable's mill

Windmill erected by Nathaniel Lucas at the Domain in 1805 and later leased for a period to Henry Kable. It was the first post mill constructed in the Sydney Cove area, and was capable of grinding more than six bushels per hour. It stood approximately where the Shakespeare Memorial statue is located in front of the Mitchell Library's main entrance.

full record »

Kirkham mill

full record »

Flour mill constructed in 1828 as a windmill and converted to a steam driven mill by the 1830s. It operated until rust destroyed local wheat crops in 1863 and was demolished in the 1880s.

Lachlan Mill

Mill established on the Botany Road at Kensington in August 1820 as Lachlan Flour Mills. Renamed in 1821 as Lachlan & Waterloo Flour Mills. In 1827 was converted into a factory for turning wool into blankets and cloth, and in 1830 for making paper from corn stalks.

full record »

Lord's Mill

Mill which used the fulling process of pounding the loosely woven cloth to knit the fibres and shrink them to produce a tight textural whole. The mill also scoured the fabric to soften and clean it using water from the nearby Mill Pond. The mill was closed when the government resumed the land for the pumping station.

full record »

Marsden's mill

full record »

Watermill built around 1810 on Darling Mills and Toongabbie Creeks by Samuel Marsden near the site of the present Cumberland hospital weir. It remained in use until about 1838. An earlier millrace on the same property was associated with the earlier Government Water Mill.

Military windmill

full record »

The colony's second windmill, built in 1798 by the government on Church Hill at the point where Clarence and Grosvenor Street would intersect. It was destroyed in a storm in 1799, and rebuilt between 1801 and 1802. The mill continued to operate until the 1840s. It was known as the military windmill due to its proximity to the barracks.

Palmer's Mill

Large stone windmill constructed by Commisary John Palmer that he operated along with a smaller timber mill and the government bakery on land in the present-day upper Botanic Gardens.

full record »

Singleton's Water Mill

full record »

Water driven wheel mill built by brothers Ben and James Singleton on the Hawkesbury in the 1820s.

Woronora Mill

Flour mill built on the Woronora River which avoided the duty paid by all Sydney based mills. Using the undershot principle the river water hit the wheel the wheel at it's base causing it to spin.

full record »

Buildings on the west of Sydney Cove c1811

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a9558001 / DG V1 / 89 (detail)]

(Detail from 'View of Sydney from the east side of the Cove c1811') (Dixson Galleries)

Camden village, Sydney in 1842, showing Kirkham windmill and the Cowpastures

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Citadel at Sydney c1825

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an5370149]

Cockle Bay, now Darling Harbour c1819-20

full record »

By

Major James Taylor

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Detail from 'Sydney in All Its Glory', a view of Sydney Cove from Dawes Point, c1817

full record »

By

Edward Charles Close

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2821022 / PXA 1187]

Detail of the eastern side of the town from 'Plan de la ville de Sydney' 1802

full record »

Key: - 1: Ruisseau [Tank Stream]; 22: Pont [Bridge]; 25: Calle du Gouvernement [Government Street]; 26: Magasin general de Meubles, d'Instrumens &c [Government store (furniture, instruments); 27: Magasin d'Habillements, de Cordages &c [Government store (clothing)] ; 28: Atelier Public [Public school]; 29: Maison et Jardin du Gouvernement [Government House and gardens]; 30: Moulin et Boulangerie du Gouvernment [Government windmill and bakery]; 31: Imprimerie du Gouvernment et de la Gasette de Sydney [Government printing and Sydney Gazette office]

By

Charles Alexandre Lesueur

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4204001 / Z/Ce 82/2 (detail)]

(Paris : Arthus Bertrand, 1824, Dixson Map Collection)

Detail showing the area around the mouth of the Tank Stream from panoramic view of Sydney 1829

full record »

Key:- 27: St Phillips; 28: Sydney Hotel; 29: Chief Justices; 30: Colonial Secretary's; 31: Orphan School; 32: Sydney Gazette Office; 33: Military Hospital; 34: Fort Philip; 35: Blue Mountains; 36: Mr Underwood's; 37: Bank of Australia; 38: Gaol; 39: Australian Agricultural Company; 40: Governor's House; 41: Commissariat store, Kings Wharf & Dock

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DG XV1A / 2 (detail)]

(from 'Panorama of Sydney, NSW, in the year 1829 as painted by Robert Burford and exhibited in Leicester Square, London', Dixson Galleries)

Detail showing windmills from key to Eyre's view of Sydney Cove from the west c1809

full record »

By

John Heaviside Clark

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135182595]

(Detail from a key to the aquatints by John Heaviside Clark from J. Eyre's watercolours, published London, 1810; the principal buildings are identified in the artist's hand on the drawing.)

First Government House and Boston's Mill, c1803

full record »

By

John William Lancashire

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928474 / DG SV1/60 (detail)]

(Detail from 'Sydney Port Jackson, New South Wales, taken from the Rocks on the western side of the Cove' c1803) (Dixson Galleries)

First government house and Boston's Mill c1800

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528055 / DG 56 (detail)]

(Detail of 'Sydney - Capital New South Wales c1800') (Dixson Galleries)

Gordon's Mill, Paddington 18 December 1859

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a3850001 / PXA 2691, 1]

(Mitchell Library)

Howells' Mill Parramatta, 1849

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128324 / ML 1050]

Jenkens Mill, Darlinghurst 1862

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a3850011 / PXA 2691, 6]

(Mitchell Library)

Millers Point and Dawes Point coastline 1832

full record »

By

Thomas Livingstone Mitchell

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

(from 'Sketch of the coast from Darling Harbour to Elizabeth Bay: showing the grants to Mr McLeay and six other gentlemen. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 16th July 1832')

Millers Point c1845

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528046 / SV1/1840s/1]

(Mitchell Library)

Mount Gilead windmill from the homestead 1888

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.map-lfsp447-s9]

North View of Sydney New South Wales, taken from the North Shore 1822

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928339 / DG V1 / 78]

(Dixson Galleries)

Old Windmill, Government Domain c1836

full record »

By

John Gardiner Austin

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[c001130011 / PXA 662, 6]

(Mitchell Library)

Panorama Darlinghurst c1836

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a140003 / XV1A/Darh/1]

(Mitchell Library)

Panorama of Darlinghurst c1836

full record »

The villas depicted, from left to right, are: Rosebank, possibly Adelaide Cottage, Rockwall, Brougham Lodge with Tusculum behind (Tusculum is under construction and without a roof), Orwell, Springfield, the windmills on the hill above Roslyn Hall, Kellett House (called Darlinghurst House at the time), Goderich and Craigend.

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Paramatta River Sydney Harbour c1819-21

full record »

By

Major James Taylor

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1528797 / ML 942]

(Mitchell Library The third government windmill in front of Fort Phillip)

Ruins of windmill tower on Hope Farm, Cattai c1950s

full record »

By

Contributed By

Hawkesbury Library Service

Singleton's Mill - Hawkesbury River 1879

full record »

By

John Black Henderson

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Sketch of the coast from Darling Harbour to Elizabeth Bay: showing the grants to Mr McLeay and six other gentlemen. Ordered by the ...

full record »

By

Thomas Livingstone Mitchell

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

Sydney Barracks and Military Windmill, 1817

full record »

By

Edward Charles Close

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an4563834-s29]

Sydney Church and Regimental Mile from the Main Guard c1817

full record »

By

Edward Charles Close

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2821041 / PXA 1187]

(St Philip's church York Street and the Military Windmill, c1817)

Sydney Cove, West side, 1810

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By

George William Evans (attributed)

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Sydney Gaol c1810

full record »

By

George William Evans (attributed)

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Detail from 'Sydney Cove, West Side 1810') (Mitchell Library)

Sydney Port Jackson, New South Wales, taken from the Rocks on the western side of the Cove, c1803

full record »

By

John William Lancashire

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928474 / DG SV1/60]

(Dixson Galleries)

Sydney St Phillip - Government windmill Cumberland St. The yellow shews the altered line of street, the part coloured Red, Josh ...

full record »

Contributed By

State Archives & Records New South Wales

[NRS13886[X751]_a110_000217]

(Sketch books [Surveyor General], Sketch book 1 folio 63)

Sydney from Darlinghurst c1818

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a5491080 / SAFE / PXE 1072 BACK FLYLEAVES 7]

(from 'Album of original drawings by Captain James Wallis and Joseph Lycett, ca. 1817-1818, bound with 'An Historical account of the Colony of New South Wales ...', published London, Rudolph Ackermann, 1821) (Mitchell Library)

Sydney from Surry Hills 1819

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928334 / ML 54]

Sydney from the North Shore 1827

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928340 / DG SV1/13]

Sydney from the North Shore c1817

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928333 / ML 52]

Sydney from the Parramatta Road 1819

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

Sydney looking south from Flagstaff Hill c1821

full record »

By

Major James Taylor

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a285001 / ML 69]

(Mitchell Library)

The Macquarie Place obelisk, Government House and windmills in the Domain c1821

full record »

By

Major James Taylor

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2916001 / V1/ca.1821/4 (detail)]

(Detail of Plate 1 of 'Panoramic views of Port Jackson', c1821, drawn by Major James Taylor, engraved by R. Havell & Sons, published in London 1823) (Mitchell Library)

The first government windmill 1797

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[PIC Solander Box A28 #R284 (detail)]

(Detail from 'Western view of Sydney Cove 1797')

The old mill at Mt Gilead near Campbell Town, NSW 1913

full record »

By

Sydney Ure Smith

Contributed By

National Gallery of Australia

[Accession No: NGA 71.62]

(Bequest of A.L. Rosenthal in memory of his mother 1971)

View from Flagstaff Hill, Sydney c1844

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a623022 / V1/1845+ /2]

View from Sydney of the Haunted Mill in Cockle Bay 1832

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DL PXX 31, 3a]

(Dixson LIbrary)

View of Sydney from the east side of the Cove c1811

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a9558001 / DG V1 / 89]

(Dixson Galleries)

View of part of Sydney c1804

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an4863559-1]

View of part of Wooloomooloo and Mr Barker's house and mills with Bradleys Point 1844

full record »

By

George Edwards Peacock

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Dixson Galleries)

Windmill, old South Head Road, Sydney 26 August 1868

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a763003 / DG*D 22]

(Dixson Galleries)

Woolloomooloo, Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay 1832

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[MAP F 324 (detail)]

(Detail from 'Sketch of the coast from Darling Harbour to Elizabeth Bay: showing the grants to Mr McLeay and six other gentlemen. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 16th July 1832')

The Miller at the Point, from These Walls Have Ears: My Place, 2013

full record »

Come on a walk down Windmill Street “and back in time“ to find out the story behind the name of one of Sydney's oldest suburbs. Turns out, it was a prickly miller who started out at Millers Point.

Contributed By

FBi Radio's All the Best

[#1313 Posted April 27th 2013 (detail)]

(This piece was created for FBi Radio's All the Best, and made possible thanks to the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority through the Rocks Windmill Project 2013.)

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