Gawler History

Gilbert and Co. Chaff Mill

Fast Facts
Place type: Industrial building
Town or Locality: Evanston
Year constructed: 1885


“Travellers along the north line are familiar with the name of Messrs. W. Gilbert & Co, for their chaff mill abuts on the railway just south of the Gawler station on the western side of the track.” stated the Bunyip in 1914.[1]

Click here to view photos of Gilbert and Co Chaff Mill


William Gilbert opened the W Gilbert & Co Chaff Mill at Evanston in about October 1886, [see advertisement] it consisted of “the old works erected by Mr. W. Malcolm for a flour and chaff mill, but in which considerable alterations and improvements have been made.”[2] (William Malcolm’s venture into milling was short lived; seemingly lasting part only part of 1885 as he was troubled by ill health and financial difficulties, resulting in insolvency in December 1885.)[3][See Malcolm (Cr) William]


The mill stood on the north eastern portion of a large triangular block of about 6 acres, situated between Barnet Road and the railway line, just south of the Gawler Railway Station, with the railway siding entering into it (part allotments 5, 6 & 7 Evanston – see allotment diagram). In addition to the main mill site which included the residence (‘Mill Cottage’ later known as ‘Orange Grove’ – see 44 Barnet Road), there was an additional block of land on the opposite side of Barnet Road that was used for hay storage (part allotments 21 & 22 Evanston - also shown in allotment diagram).


Disaster struck within a year of Gilbert taking over the mill; at 9:30pm on the evening of 25th August 1887 bells and whistles were heard throughout Gawler indicating a fire, but the fire brigade did not turn out and within an hour the new part of the mill had been destroyed.[4][5][6] Mr James Sale, the mill manager was quick to arrive and with men under his command applied water by bucket, saving the engine house and storeroom.[4][5][6]


They rebuilt[7] and William Gilbert’s nephew William Gilbert Payne, who had been working with his uncle for some years, moved into the site’s ‘Mill Cottage’ and took on management of the mill in 1888.[8] Then he and partner William Henry George leased and ran the mill from 1902, until it was transferred to William Gilbert Payne in 1907.[9] Over the years the business thrived and was expanded, with two additional mills at Wasleys.[1]


Local farmers transported their hay to the site, where it was weighed via weighbridge, purchased by the company and stacked in massive stacks, which were thatched to provide protection from the weather. By 1895 the mill was processing and bagging 30 tonnes of chaff on an ordinary day; the railway trucks came into the siding which had a shed erected over it to allow the bagged chaff to be loaded dry in even the heaviest rains, prior to being transported by rail for sale.[10] Journalists from the Bunyip made visits to the mill in 1887, 1895 and 1914 providing excellent descriptions of the establishment and its processes. For further details see the articles:

·       “Mr. W. Gilbert's Chaff Works.” (Bunyip 4 Mar 1887)

·       “AN ENTERPRISING FIRM. A MODEL CHAFF MILL.” (Bunyip 12 Jul 1895)

·       “GAWLER INDUSTRIES No. X. MESSRS W. GILBERT & CO'S CHAFFMILLS.” (Bunyip 25 Dec 1914)


In 1918 the mill, residence and adjacent paddocks were put up for sale by William Gilbert Payne, who was retiring to Henley Beach (see newspaper advertisement). They were purchased by Wilhelm Daniel Noack, who continued the chaff mill operations until at least 1952 (A Bunyip article from July 1952 reported the theft of some chaff bags from Noack's mill).[11] The mill also made the news in 1948 when there was a “fracas” in which owner Wilhelm Daniel Noack was alleged to have attacked George Walter Modra with a pitch fork and tomahawk[12][13] (see Bunyip 28 May 1948 & 4 Jun 1948).


Since then the property was transferred and subdivided numerous times.[9] The old stone chaff mill building was still standing in 1980, but was in bad repair, with “the eastern wall sloping dangerously inwards.” [14]By 1989 the mill had been demolished and portion of the property where it stood on had been developed into housing (the mill was at about the address now known as 7 Warhurst Court). The additional block of land on the opposite side of Barnet Road that was used for hay storage, was sold off in 1951, but remained a paddock until 2005, before being developed into housing in 2006 (this is the area north of Birkett Street, including Flynn Court & Eastick Court).

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Mill Owners, Managers & Employees

The mill employed nine men full time in 1887,[2] growing to employ eighteen to twenty hands in a good season by 1914.[1] Many of those would have been seasonal employees, but those known to have been involved with the mill are:

·       Successive owners – William Malcolm, William Gilbert, William Gilbert Payne & Wilhelm Daniel Noack

·       William Henry George - partner of William Gilbert Payne from 1902-1907, W H George’s obituary states he purchased the Wasleys’ chaff mills after his partner died and carried on business with two of his sons until his death, which occurred in 1942.[15]

·       James Sale, of Sale and Eastwood Chaff Mill, was manager of Gilbert & Co. Mill in 1887 when the fire struck.[4][5][6]

·       Charles Smith (left in charge by manager James Sale) and Edward Burns, engine driver, were the mill employees who were present on the night of the fire.[4][5][6]

·       Frederick Jefferies was an employee at the mill from 1906-1907, who was charged by William Gilbert Payne for absenting himself from employ “without just cause or lawful excuse”[16] (the case was adjourned as the defendant was ill – the outcome was not found.)

·       Mr Curnow – was mill manager for a time according to William Gilbert Payne’s daughter Clethra’s recollections, she recalled he lived in one of the cottages at the mill site and his wife did the Payne family’s washing for many years, then he moved out to the Payne’s Aylesbury farm to assist the Payne sons[8] (perhaps around 1908)(his exact identity has not been determined).

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Compiled by Nikki Wight - with thanks to William Gilbert Payne' granddaughter Miriam Smith (nee Cheek) for sharing her extensive research, photographs & documents.

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Additional Information

For additional information see “Gawler’s Industrial Buildings 1839 – 1939” by Susan Phillips and Michael Pilkington[14] (article and photograph pages 37 & 38)(Note: the Gilbert & Co Mill is also included in the map on page 11, but it is not in the correct location).

Related Articles


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 (Bunyip 25 Dec 1914) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97735334
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Mr. W. Gilbert's Chaff Works.” (Bunyip 4 Mar 1887) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97230131
  3. ↑ (Adelaide Observer 19 Dec 1885) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160747864
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 “THE FIRE FIEND. MR GILBERT'S CHAFF MILL BURNT.” (Bunyip 26 Aug 1887) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97228389
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 “Fire at Gawler” (South Australian Weekly Chronicle 27 Aug 1887) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94956599
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 “The Fire at Gilbert's Chaff Mills. CORONER'S INQUEST.” (Bunyip 2 Sep 1887) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97227975
  7. ↑ "Gilbert's Chaff Mill" (Bunyip 30 Sep 1887) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97228711
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Clethra Spilsbury nee Payne (1987) Family History & Recollections – Unpublished (from the collection of Miriam Smith nee Cheek – Clethra’s niece)(Gratitude from GHT for access to this resource & to the late Clethra Spilsbury for recording her recollections, aged 84)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Certificates of Title 372/66, 662/26 & 771/149
  10. ↑ “AN ENTERPRISING FIRM. A MODEL CHAFF MILL.” (Bunyip 12 Jul 1895) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97572885
  11. ↑ (Bunyip 4 Jul 1952) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96897507
  12. ↑ “Pitch Fork & Tomahawk Attacks Alleged in Gawler Court Case. Episode at Chaff Mill.” (Bunyip 28 May 1948) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96850315
  13. ↑ “Sequel to Pitch Fork, Tomahawk Fracas” (Bunyip 4 Jun 1948) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96851586
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Phillips, Susan & Pilkington, Michael (1980) Gawler’s Industrial Buildings 1839-1939, Architecture Papers, Department of Architecture, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4EjkA7CXbhAUlV5TDBzbkpBMWc
  15. ↑ The Chronicle 19 Mar 1942) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92376972
  16. ↑ (Bunyip 25 Jan 1907) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97603886


Gilbert & Co Chaff Mill - c1890s
Gilbert & Co Chaff Mill - c1890s


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