Events > Flour Mill Fires
Flour Mill Fires
Flour can be almost as flammable as Pyrmont’s other staples. It is rather strange that few fires have been reported. An early example involved arson. In 1809 Magistrate Riley tried five people suspected of robbing Mr. Blaxcell's mill in Pyrmont of seven bags of wheat. (Blaxcell had acquired the mill from his friend and ally John Macarthur.) Three bags had been recovered, but three others were partially burned, presumably to conceal the theft. (Sydney Gazette, 19 November 1809)
Very much later, and much more serious, was the fire that damaged the Edwin Davey flour mill in 1911. Like so many other fires, this was a memorable spectacle.
Edwin Davey Flour Mill Fire
On the morning of Friday, March 24, 1911 much of the interior of the flour mill, together with plant and machinery, were destroyed by fire. The cart sheds and stables at the rear of the mill were saved, also an adjoining bulk wheat store in which were 20,000 bags of wheat valued at £10,000. The wheat store was constructed of brick and iron.
The Millers' Journal reported that the plant had been worth between £10,000 and £11,000. The Sydney Morning Herald valued it at something over £14,000. As one report stated: ".. a flour mill from its very construction is the best of fuel."
One newspaper gave an explanation which was both informative and film-like in its narrative -
.. interior of the building was of a kind calculated to assist the rapid spread of the fire. The place was intersected with wooden casings, that enclosed the travelling belts which conveyed the flour in its various stages of manufacture from one portion of the milling plant to another. These crossed and re-crossed each story, and ascended and descended from one floor, to the next above or below. The casings were of light varnished wood, and the flames sped along them with astonishing velocity. Thus it was that the fire seemed to spread throughout the second and third floors in all directions at once.
The following eye-witness description adds drama:
Within a quarter of an hour it presented a splendid appearance, standing, as the building did, on the edge of a cliff overlooking Wentworth Park. From the high ground near Glebe Point one could see the flames sweep in waves up the sides of the building, and mount to the tower-like structure on top. I hurried over to watch the fight. The firemen directed their attention to limiting the extent of the fire, as the contiguous stores held a large and valuable stock of wheat. The attack was conducted from all sides that were open. At the northern end a ladder carrying a line of hose was raised to the upper story windows, but the fire began to leap through these, and a fresh attempt to enter was made at the lower story. Here the brigade took a hose right into the blazing building, and soon the fire began to subside in that quarter. As the firemen advanced, the flames yielded, and in half an hour or so after the fight began, it was only a matter of extinguishing the remains.
The brigade did excellent work in preventing the fire spreading to the wheat store.
