On the northern bank of the Burnett River is the historic site of Waterview Sawmill, one of Bundaberg’s first industries, which played a critical part in the building of the town.
Now a private residence, the site once housed Waterview sawmill, a sugar mill and a distillery, and is listed on Bundaberg Regional Council’s Register of Local Heritage Places.
The mill structures are no longer in evidence as the works and machinery were damaged by floods and closed in the early 20th century.
Historical context
Bundaberg was established in the late 1860s after John Charles Burnett identified the Burnett River in 1847, and pastoral properties stocking sheep and cattle were established from the late 1840s.
When prices were low, or there was an oversupply of stock (particularly in the 1860s), the cattle were rendered to produce tallow.
A boiling down works was established in Baffle Creek, which led John and Gavin Steuart to establish a sawmill in North Bundaberg in 1867, to provide timber for the tallow casks.
Interest in the settlement grew rapidly and a town was surveyed on the southern bank of the Burnett River in 1868 on the site of the present day city.
Rockhampton sawmiller Samuel Johnston arrived in Bundaberg in 1868 and erected a mill on the north bank of the Burnett River, on a selection of land known as Mabbro.
Waterview Sawmill operated in competition with the Steuarts’ mill and timber sawn at Waterview was used in the construction of many early Bundaberg buildings.
The mill was damaged in the flood of 1875, but was rebuilt, and later expanded in 1888 when it consisted of a 70 horsepower machine, a two-storey building and had 50 employees.
Expanding into sugar
The first commercial sugar mill in Bundaberg was Millbank, established by Richard Palmer, which produced its first commercial sugar in 1872.
The Steuarts constructed a small sugar mill in 1875, however their cane was affected by ‘rust’ disease, their mill soon closed, and the Steuarts left Bundaberg for North Queensland.
Samual Johnston established a sugar mill adjacent to Waterview Sawmill in 1879, which was one among six commercial sugar mills operating in the Bundaberg area at the time.
The addition of a sugar mill reflects the evolution of the region, as agricultural land was largely converted to sugar cane production, and sugar and juice mills were erected.
In 1893, the Bundaberg-Mount Perry railway was extended specifically to the Waterview mill site.
The rail extension enabled easier access to cane from the Isis district, and helped bolster the use of the railway, as timber produced at the sawmill led to more rail traffic on the line than the copper mine for which it was built.
Waterview sugar mill was operated by Samuel Johnston until the late 1890s when he sold it to Millaquin sugar mill.
The sawmill and sugar mill were damaged by floods in 1903 and closed in the years following.
The Gibson brothers of Bingera purchased the Waterview sugar mill machinery in 1907 to increase the crushing capacity of their Marburg mill.
Samuel Johnston relocated to Mossman in North Queensland and became integral to the sugar industry there.
Physical features of the site
The Johnston family residence was located on the site of the sawmill, and it was shifted approximately 100 m east of its original location in 1989.
It is unknown if the home currently located on the property is that same residence.
A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry report in 1998 noted the site had a stone wall approximately 13 m long that was the primary visible remains of the sawmill and sugar mill.
Previous assessment of the site has indicated the presence of archaeological features associated with the sawmill.
The site has potential to yield further information that will contribute to an understanding of the region’s history.
Archaeological material may consist of items that reflect settlement in Bundaberg from the late 1860s, as well as the layout, technology and operation of the sawmill and sugar mill, both of which were erected in a considerably early period in Bundaberg’s history.
