Rare roller at Tremain's Mill

The mill, dating back to 1859, has long been a feature on the Bathurst landscape, and news that it is up for sale has alarmed some in the community.

Bathurst resident, and member of the Save our Silos Facebook page, Vianne Tourle said the roller made by Robinson and Son is rare.

The roller is still used by Bedwells Feed Barn, one of mill’s 20 tenants, to crack grains for chicken feed they produce.

Ms Tourle said she had spoken to an industrial heritage expert who said that the machine is the key item of flour milling technology in the building.

“That such a rare roller is still being used today is extraordinary,” she said.

Ms Tourle said the site is possibly the only mill in Australia that largely retains the internal workings of an early 20th century flour mill, with machinery, drive shafts, augers, pulleys and chutes still in use.

“It would be a tragedy for Bathurst’s heritage story to lose any of the buildings and machinery to modern development,” she said.

“The importance of the silos and mill to the Bathurst city-scape can’t be underestimated.”

Ms Tourle said where Tremain’s Mill differs to other mills of its vintage is that its equipment remains in tact, and some still in use.

“In a lot of the mills the equipment has been taken out or sold,” she said.

Measuring a significant 8522 square metres, with 5000 square metres of let-able area, Tremain’s Mill currently houses 20 tenants.

The site includes a preschool (Keppel Street Kindy), laundromat (Keppel Street Laundry), Bedwells Feed Barn, the old mill and concrete silos, a number of inter-linked buildings (constructed from a mix of brick and corrugated iron) and a vacant block of land on Havannah Street.

Tremain’s Mill has three street frontages – Havannah, Keppel and Manilla streets.

Despite Ms Tourle’s pleas that the building be kept in tact and continued to run in its current manner, she believes it will be sold at auction tomorrow.

“Perhaps it’s being idealistic, but I hope that it would stay as it is and change happens around it,” she said.

“My ideal would be to maintain the old architecture and machinery.

“A lot of people are keen to make sure it’s not erased.”

Tremain’s Mill is listed for sale with Raine and Horne Bathurst and will be auctioned on Thursday, May 7.