Elgin Vale Sawmill, 1984. From the Queensland Heritage Registerid=602762 ) . The Elgin Vale sawmill, an open-air timber structure containing a steam operated mill, was built in 1944 by Wilson Hart Limited of Maryborough, replacing an earlier sawmill established in 1927. Queensland's pastoral frontier and its associated disruption of traditional Aboriginal lifestyles spread throughout the Wide Bay-Burnett district during the 1840s. In 1847 John Mortimer selected Manumbar, a 64 000 acre (26 000 hectares) holding between Nanango and present day Goomeri, which included the site of the Elgin Vale
Elgin Vale Sawmill, 1984. From the Queensland Heritage Registerid=602762 ) . The Elgin Vale sawmill, an open-air timber structure containing a steam operated mill, was built in 1944 by Wilson Hart Limited of Maryborough, replacing an earlier sawmill established in 1927. Queensland's pastoral frontier and its associated disruption of traditional Aboriginal lifestyles spread throughout the Wide Bay-Burnett district during the 1840s. In 1847 John Mortimer selected Manumbar, a 64 000 acre (26 000 hectares) holding between Nanango and present day Goomeri, which included the site of the Elgin Vale sawmill. When land was resumed from the Gallangowan run of Manumbar in 1878, 400 acres were set aside for a Camping and Water Reserve () at the confluence of the Gallangowan and Moonda-Waamba Creeks. It was on Mortimer's recommendation that this area was gazetted, as it was the only permanent source of water in the locality. The following year Messrs J & A Porter took up much of the surrounding land, constructing a homestead 'Elgin Vale' in close proximity to the reserve. By the 1870s, timbergetters were working in the South Burnett, servicing the small local markets of Nanango and Kilkivan and hauling logs to Queensland's 'timberopolis', Maryborough. The construction of the branch railway to Kilkivan from Theebine in 1886 enabled logs and sawn timber to be sent to Maryborough and Brisbane more efficiently, creating conditions for a viable and larger scale timber industry in the South Burnett. Timber revenue provided the chief justification for the extension of the Kilkivan branch line and after extending through to Goomeri (1902), Murgon (1904) and Kingaroy (1904), the timber industry was a major contributor to the initial growth of these settlements. In townships and in close proximity to forested areas, numerous steam operated sawmills were established to process timber. The first sawmill located on Camping and Water Reserve 81, (also known as Scrubby Paddock), w
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Photo credit: © QS Archive / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: 1980s, 1984, archival, archive, archives, australia, australian, collection, elgin, heritage, historic, historical, history, image, photo, qsa, queensland, reference, sawmill, state, steam, vale, vintage
