Mill Point Settlement Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mill Point Settlement Site |
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Information board at Mill Point Cemetery, 2008
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| Location | Elanda Point at Lake Cootharaba in Como, Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1840s–1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | c. 1869 – 1940s |
| Official name: Mill Point Settlement Site | |
| Type | state heritage (archaeological) |
| Designated | 6 April 2005 |
| Reference no. | 601280 |
| Significant period | 1869–1892, 1920s, 1940s (fabric) 1869–1892 (historical) |
| Significant components | embankment – tramway, mill – wind, chimney/chimney stack, well, trees/plantings, objects (movable) – forestry/timber industry, signage – interpretative, cemetery, steps/stairway, machinery/plant/equipment – forestry/timber industry, yards – livestock, memorial – rock/stone/boulder |
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The Mill Point Settlement Site is a special historical place located at Elanda Point, near Lake Cootharaba in Queensland, Australia. It used to be a busy town built around a sawmill. This settlement was active from around 1869 until the early 1890s. Today, you can still find many clues about the people who lived and worked there. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 April 2005 because of its important history.
Contents
Discovering the Timber Industry in Cooloola
In the 1860s, people started exploring the forests around the Cooloola area. They were looking for valuable timber. A man named William Pettigrew visited in 1863. He found lots of different trees like cedar, Bunya pine, and Kauri pine.
By the mid-1860s, people called "cedar-getters" were already cutting down trees near the Noosa River. The gold rush in Gympie also helped the timber industry grow. Money from gold mining was used to start new businesses, including sawmills.
How Mill Point Settlement Began
In March 1869, Charles Samuel Russell applied for land at Lake Cootharaba. This land later became known as Cootharaba Station. Russell teamed up with four men from the Gympie goldfields: James McGhie, Abraham Fleetwood Luya, Frederick George Goodchap, and John Woodburn.
Even though Russell applied for the land, the company that built the sawmill was known as "McGhie, Luya and Co." They started the Cootharaba Sawmills at Mill Point.
Abraham Luya was a key person in this company. He had worked on railways before moving to Gympie in 1869. He became a very important figure in the sawmilling business for 30 years. Luya also had a role in politics, serving as a Member of Parliament and even as Mayor of South Brisbane.
By the end of 1869, McGhie, Luya and Co. had moved onto the land. They built houses and the sawmill in 1870. The Cootharaba Station also raised cattle. These cattle provided meat for the workers and helped pull wagons loaded with timber.
Building the Settlement on Swampy Land
The Mill Point Settlement was built in a swampy area right next to Lake Cootharaba. To make more space for timber, they filled the swamp with sawdust. This helped create and expand the timber yards.
At first, logs were floated down Kin Kin Creek to the lake. Later, timber was brought from further away, like Mount Coondoo, to a special tramway station. From there, it was sent to Gympie along Cootharaba Road.
Overcoming Transport Challenges
Moving the timber was very difficult at first. Bullock teams often got stuck in the wet, sandy ground. The Cootharaba Road was also swampy and had steep parts.
To solve this, the company set up a way to transport timber by sea. They had a depot in Tewantin. Special flat-bottomed boats called "droghers" (like the "Black Swan") pulled rafts of sawn timber through Lake Cootharaba and Lake Cooroibah to Tewantin.
From Tewantin, the timber was loaded onto the company's steamer, the "S.S. Culgoa." This ship took the timber to Brisbane three times every two weeks. It could carry huge amounts of timber! The S.S. Culgoa also carried passengers and other goods between Tewantin and Brisbane. This continued until a railway line connected Brisbane and Gympie in 1891.
The Mill Point Tramway System
Because the ground at Mill Point was so wet and soft, the company built a tramway system in the mid-1870s. It used wooden rails that were about 3 feet wide. These rails were made from strong trees like penda and ironbark.
The main tramway line stretched for about a quarter of a mile towards the sawmill and the settlement on Lake Cootharaba. To keep the tramway above the swamp, they laid logs and strong beams, then sleepers (cross-ties) to hold the rails. The spaces between the sleepers were filled with sand and gravel from the lake. This helped the bullock and horse teams get good grip.
The tramway made transporting logs much faster than the old method of dragging them. At its busiest, nine bullock and horse teams worked at Mill Point. The tramway also meant work could continue even during wet weather, when bullock teams usually couldn't operate.
In 1878, the wooden rails were replaced with stronger steel rails. This meant less repair work was needed. Logs were pulled along the tramway on wagons by strong horses.
Life at the Mill Point Settlement
The settlement was first called "Kin Kin Sawmills," then "Cootharaba Sawmill" or "Cootharaba Village Settlement." Today, it's known as "Mill Point" or "Elanda Point." In 1871, about 22 people lived there.
In 1873, a journalist visited and described it as a "regular little township." It had houses for workers, a good store run by the company, and a butcher's shop. It seemed to have everything needed for the comfort of the people living there.
The Cootharaba School and Community Life
The Cootharaba School opened in August 1874 with 16 students. The sawmill owners provided the school building, which also had a library and a reading room. It even served as a community hall! In 1875, the school was described as a comfortable building with a verandah, located near Lake Cootharaba. It was better equipped than most schools in the area.
A hotel operated from 1876 until it was destroyed by fire in 1878. Community life included fun activities like picnics, excursions, and sports days. For example, on New Year's Day in 1877, the sawmill workers played a cricket match against the timber-getters and bullock-drivers.
The Mill Point Cemetery
A cemetery was created at the Cootharaba Settlement. Between 1873 and 1891, 43 burials were recorded there. These included 9 men, 4 women, and 30 children. Many children died from illnesses like lung problems or convulsions.
The cemetery was never officially recognized by the government because it was on private land. Over the years, many grave markers were removed. Today, only the base of one headstone remains. You can still see slight dips in the ground where some graves are located.
A Tragic Accident
On July 29, 1873, a boiler exploded at the sawmill. Five men were tragically killed. One man died instantly, and four others passed away later from their injuries. Four of these men were buried in the Mill Point cemetery. The fifth man died in Gympie Hospital and was buried there.
This accident led to important changes in Queensland. Rules for steam boilers were made stricter, and boiler operators had to get a special certificate to work them. This helped make workplaces safer.
The Decline and Closure of the Sawmill
In the mid-1880s, several things led to the sawmill's closure in the early 1890s.
- Government Royalties: In 1884, the Queensland Government introduced new fees called "royalties" for cutting timber. This made it harder for local sawmills to compete.
- Running Out of Timber: After 20 years of operation, the valuable softwood trees near the sawmill were almost all gone.
- New Railway Line: When the railway line between Brisbane and Gympie was finished in July 1891, there was no longer a need for ships and coaches to travel between Tewantin and Brisbane. The S.S. Culgoa, the company's ship, was wrecked in 1891.
The sawmill finally closed in 1892. The buildings were eventually taken apart, and the materials were reused or left to fall down as the land was later used for farming.
After the Sawmill: Farming Attempts
In 1891, Abraham Luya tried to create a "village settlement" on the land, offering small farms to people. Eleven families moved there, but most left quickly. The land was either too wet or too sandy for farming.
Dairy farmers tried to use the land in the early 1900s, but dairy farming wasn't successful either. This was partly because of the swampy land and poor soil. Today, a large brick chimney remains from where the main dairy farmhouse stood. This chimney might even be from the sawmill days, reused by the farmers.
The land changed owners many times until the Queensland Government bought it in 1983. In 1985, the Mill Point area became part of the Cooloola National Park (now part of the Great Sandy National Park).
Remembering the Past
In 1988, a special plaque was placed at the site to remember its history.
The famous Australian poet Judith Wright visited the Mill Point cemetery. In 1956, she wrote a poem called "Graves at Mill Point." It was about the life she imagined at the settlement in the late 1800s. The poem mentioned a man named Alfred Watt, who was actually a baby buried in the cemetery in 1874.
On April 24, 1993, the local National Trust of Queensland put up a stone memorial. It lists the names of the European settlers buried at the Mill Point Cemetery.
In 2004, six special signs were put up around the site. These signs help visitors learn about the rich history of Mill Point.
Exploring the Mill Point Site Today
The Old Tramway
The main tramway line curves west from where the settlement used to be. Parts of the original wooden rails can still be seen near the settlement area. Much of the remaining tramway is now used as a walking track.
The Cemetery Site
The Mill Point cemetery is about 2 kilometers west of the settlement area. While most grave markers are gone, you can still see slight dips in the ground. These are believed to be the locations of graves. They are lined up in rows, just like burials were done in the late 1800s.
The Settlement and Sawmill Area
This area stretches from the old dairy farmhouse to the shores of Lake Cootharaba. You can still see parts of the tramway mound, which was built above the swamp.
There are many clues here about the busy town that once stood. You can find lots of handmade bricks, some with special marks called "frogs" that show who made them. A large metal boiler from the mill's time stands near a big fig tree. Another boiler is in Lake Cootharaba, and it might be from the 1873 explosion.
You can also see the remains of old fences and posts from the cattle yards built in the 1940s. Many old items have been found here, including metal tools, pieces of plates and mugs, broken glass bottles, and different kinds of bricks.
Lake Cootharaba Discoveries
The lake itself holds many historical secrets. On the surface and buried in the lakebed, you can find bricks, sawn timber, glass, and metal. You can also see the remains of old wooden posts (pylons) that were part of the jetties and wharves used by the sawmill. A large metal tram wheel is also in the lake.
The Dairy Farmhouse Remains
About 350 meters west of the settlement area, you'll find the remains of the dairy farmhouse. All that's left is a large brick chimney. This chimney might even be from the sawmill days, reused by the farmers. There are also three concrete steps that once led into the house.
Around the chimney, you can see old garden plants like crepe myrtles and bougainvillea. Two mango trees were planted in 1924 by Vera Grady, whose family owned and worked the dairy farm.
Near the mango trees is an old brick-lined well from the sawmill period. A wooden cover was built for the well in the 1920s, and it has since been replaced. There's also a windmill that was built by John Crang, a former owner.
Why Mill Point is Important
The Mill Point Settlement Site is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it tells us a lot about Queensland's history.
- Showing History's Patterns: It shows how the timber industry developed in the late 1800s. It was one of the first and most successful timber mills in the Cooloola area. It also played a role in making new safety rules for boilers after the 1873 explosion.
- Learning from the Past: The remains of the tramway, cemetery, dairy area, and jetties can still teach us a lot. By studying these remains, we can learn more about daily life and burial customs in a company timber town in Queensland during the 1800s and 1900s. We can also learn about how timber was cut and processed.
- Meaning to the Community: The Mill Point Settlement Site is very important to the local community in Boreen Point and Noosa. It connects them to their past.
- Important People: The site is linked to the work of McGhie and Luya. They were important in developing rural southeast Queensland by creating company towns and being involved in the gold rushes.
