Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company mill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company mill |
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Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company mill, 2009
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| Location | 42 & 42B The Terrace, North Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia |
| Official name: Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company Ltd (former), Australian Fabric Manufacturers Ltd, Boral Hancock Plywood | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 19 September 2008 |
| Reference no. | 602572 |
| Significant period | 1870s onwards |
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The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company mill is a special old factory in North Ipswich, Australia. It used to make wool products like blankets and clothes. Today, it is recognized as a heritage site, meaning it is an important part of history that needs to be protected.
Contents
The Mill's Early Days
The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company started in 1875. It was the very first factory in Queensland to make wool products. The mill was built on flat land next to the Bremer River in North Ipswich.
Why Ipswich Was a Great Location
Ipswich began as a small convict outpost in 1827. After free settlers arrived in 1842, it grew into an important trading town. This was because of its location at the top of the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers. Goods from farms, like wool, were sent through Ipswich to the coast. By 1875, Ipswich also had a good railway system.
The company chose Ipswich for its woollen mill because it was easy to get wool there. The factory was built very close to "The Basin" on the Bremer River. This was a special area where large ships could turn around. This made it easy to load and unload goods. Being by the river also gave the mill a steady supply of water for its steam engines. The railway was also nearby, making transport simple.
Opening the First Woollen Factory
The first factory building was made of timber. It started making woollen fabric called tweed in 1877. To show how important this factory was for Queensland, the Governor of Queensland, Sir Arthur Kennedy, officially opened it.
At this time, Queensland's factories and industries were growing fast. The wool industry was a big part of this growth. More sheep were being raised, and farmers were getting better at producing high-quality wool.
The Ipswich mill was a central place to process raw wool from the Darling Downs region. Before this mill, raw wool had to be sent to cities like Melbourne or Sydney. This was expensive and slow. The Ipswich mill allowed wool to be processed locally, which helped the sheep farmers. It also showed that Queensland's economy was growing beyond just selling raw materials.
Products and Quality Standards
To help the industry grow, the government offered the company a bonus. They received £1,000 for the first 1,000 yards of cloth they made. At first, the mill only made unfinished cloth. But because there wasn't enough demand for it, they started making their own clothes.
The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company made very good quality wool products. They sold tweeds, flannels, blankets, rugs, and clothing. In 1879, they advertised that their cloths were "manufactured from Queensland Merino Wool. Free from shoddy mixtures." "Shoddy" was a practice where old, discarded wool was recycled and mixed with new wool. The company wanted people to know their products were pure and new.
Important People and Growth
In 1881, the mill added new sections. These were designed by Samuel Shenton, a well-known Ipswich architect and businessman. He was also a director of the mill for many years and served as Ipswich mayor. Other important business and political leaders in Ipswich also played a big part in the mill's success. They saw it as an important industry and a good investment.
By 1887, the Queensland Government started buying supplies from the mill. They bought serge, tweed, blankets, and rugs for an annual fee. The mill's management promised that their products would be much better quality than what the government had bought before.
A New Brick Factory
In 1890, the old wooden factory was replaced with large brick and iron buildings. These new buildings were designed by another famous Ipswich architect, George Brockwell Gill. He designed many grand homes and public buildings in Ipswich.
Design of the New Mill
The new brick factory was a huge addition to North Ipswich. In old photos, the mill looks very big next to the Bremer River. The tall west wall had special arched window designs made from light-colored bricks. A tall brick chimney rose from the south-east corner.
The mill was designed to let in as much natural light and fresh air as possible. This was important before electric lights were common. It had large windows in its sawtooth roof and along the east, west, and south walls.
How Wool Was Processed
Inside the mill, wool was cleaned, spun, and woven into different types of cloth using large machines. Much of this cloth was then made into clothes like shirts and suits. Unfinished fabric was also sold. These machines were powered by steam. The mill had its own steam engines and a boiler to create power. The steam engine was near the large brick chimney.
The wool processing had many steps:
- Sorting and grading: Wool was checked to decide how it would be processed.
- Scouring: Wool was cleaned in large vats to remove dirt. It was then dried and dyed if needed.
- Carding and combing: Machines broke up the wool and made the fibers straight.
- Spinning: Large machines called spinning mules spun the wool into yarn.
- Weaving: The yarn was woven into fabric on looms.
- Finishing: The woven fabric was shaved to make it smooth.
- Sewing: Finally, the fabric was sewn into various products.
Each step happened in a different part of the mill. This design made the process very efficient.
Impact on Ipswich and Beyond
By the late 1800s, Ipswich was booming with new industries, jobs, and wealth. Big factories like the North Ipswich Railway Workshops, coal mines, and the first cotton mill helped this success. By 1891, Ipswich had a population of 13,059, making it the fourth largest town in Queensland.
Women in the Workforce
While most industries in Ipswich hired men, the cloth industry provided many jobs for women. The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company was the largest employer of women in Ipswich. In 1891, it had 152 women out of 226 employees.
Local people in Ipswich supported their local industries. The flannel made by the mill was popular for making men's work clothes. The clothes made at the mill were also popular with factory workers and miners. "Ipswich Grey Flannels" were woollen shirts that many Ipswich men wore. The mill also had contracts to supply uniforms for the Queensland Railways and the Queensland Police.
Supporting the War Effort
The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company played an important role during World War I. Many Ipswich industries struggled during the war, but this mill did well. Because it had many female employees, it didn't lose as many workers to the war. The factory was very busy making army blankets and cloth for military uniforms.
By 1919, the mill was so successful that it was the first factory in North Ipswich to get electric lights. This meant it could work longer hours, make more products, and earn more money. It also helped the employees. About 80% of the mill's products were sold in Queensland. Their flannels and blankets were known across Australia for being high quality.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the mill kept producing. It was an important employer when many people around the world were jobless. In 1935, the company even tripled its output and sold clothes at lower prices to help customers. They advertised "Pure Wool and No Rubbish." The clothing industry in Queensland actually hired more people during the Depression, unlike many other industries that had to cut jobs.
During World War II, the mill again helped the war effort. It made blankets and cloth for the armed forces. The government said that vital industries like cloth manufacturing could not fire workers. This was a good time for workers to ask for better conditions. More women were hired during the war because fewer men were available.
Ipswich was a key center for the union movement, especially in textile mills. The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company was part of this. In 1942, workers at the mill went on strike. Striking during a world war was not popular, and the media criticized it, saying "War work held up." The company continued to have worker disputes in 1943 and 1945.
Later Years and Changes
Many of the mill's windows were changed in the mid-1900s. Timber-framed windows were replaced with louvers. The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company continued making wool products until 1968. Then, the company was sold and became Australian Fabric Manufacturers Ltd.
New steel-framed buildings were added in the 1970s or early 1980s for cleaning wool. In 1984, Hancock Bros Pty Ltd bought the older part of the mill. The newest parts were bought by other companies.
The old wool processing machines have been removed. The factory now makes plywood. The steam engine was moved to the North Ipswich Railway Workshops Museum. The manager's house, which was once on the site, was moved to the Mining Museum at Kholo. The tall brick chimney was removed because it became unsafe.
What the Mill Looks Like Today
The mill buildings are located on a slight hill above the Bremer River. The current owners call the old buildings "the Top Mill." They are on the highest part of the industrial area.
The main mill building is a large, tall, rectangular brick building. It has several smaller buildings attached to it.
The main entrance is on the north-west side. The wrought iron gates at the entrance still show the Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company's symbol. The brick wall along The Terrace is painted and stands out in the area.
The main mill building is made of light red bricks. Its roof has sixteen sections shaped like sawteeth. On the western side, there are four decorative brick designs that look like arched windows.
Two smaller brick buildings have been added to the west wall of the main mill. They have corrugated iron roofs and clerestory windows (windows high up on the wall). These two buildings face north-south, while the main factory faces east-west.
You can still see where the brick chimney used to be on the south-east corner. There's a furnace at its base, but it's now bricked up and hidden by stored plywood. There are also concrete blocks outside where machinery used to be. The outside brick walls have rows of large windows. On the eastern wall, these windows are about three meters off the ground and now have glass louvers. On the north and south walls, the windows are closer to the ground. They used to be timber-framed but are now either louvers or covered with timber panels.
Inside, the factory has a large open area with several smaller rooms. The walls are painted brick. The spaces flow into each other.
The main part of the mill is a big open hall. This is where the large machines used to be. Timber frames support the roof, which has no lining. Some of the timber beams have been replaced with steel. The floor is concrete.
In the south-east corner room, a boiler and steam engine once powered the factory. The large brick chimney and furnace were next to this room. The roof in this room is high to fit the tall steam machinery.
Next to this room was the wool grading room. It used to have a timber floor raised one meter above the current cement floor. Now, it's used for storage.
To the west of the grading room was the scouring room. This room once had large iron vats for cleaning wool. These vats were two meters deep and sunk into the floor, but they are now covered with cement.
The factory offices are still in the north-east corner of the main building. Inside these brick offices, there is an original walk-in safe with an iron frame. The walls are plastered. The plastered ceiling of the first office has a small vent with a wrought iron cover that shows the company's symbol. Above all the office doors, there are louvered panel windows.
Why This Place Is Important
The former Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company mill was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2008 because it meets several important criteria.
Showing Queensland's History
This mill was the first woollen mill in Queensland. It shows how large-scale manufacturing started in the state. It also shows how the sheep industry began to process its own wool locally, rather than sending it away.
The textile industry traditionally hired many women. This mill was the largest employer of women in Ipswich in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The mill's location in Ipswich shows how important Ipswich was as a trading center. Raw wool came from the Darling Downs, and the finished products were sent to Brisbane for distribution.
The mill also played a big part in Australia's war efforts. It made uniforms and blankets for the armed forces in both the First and Second World Wars. It also supplied uniforms for the Railway and Police.
A Rare Example
In big textile centers like Northern England, different parts of wool processing were often done in separate factories. The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company was special because it did everything in one place, from raw wool to finished clothes.
It is rare because it was the very first woollen mill in Queensland.
Key Features of a Woollen Mill
The Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company is an important and mostly complete example of an early woollen mill in Queensland. Its location by the river was important for transport and water for its steam-powered machines. Its layout shows how the work flowed through the factory.
Inside the mill, you can still see where each step of the process happened: the large steam engine room, the wool grading room, the scouring and dyeing room, the big open halls where machines like carding machines and looms were, and the sewing and storage areas. This design was planned to be efficient and stayed the same throughout the mill's operation.
The mill is also an example of the work of famous Ipswich architect George Brockwell Gill. He designed many other important buildings in Ipswich.
Its Beauty and Landmark Status
The mill's large brick walls are a landmark in North Ipswich. It was built on a high corner overlooking a bend in the Bremer River. Because of its size and location, it can be seen from many areas around Ipswich.
