Messrs. wade and Co.’s corn flour mill, Dungog.

Rare colonial engraving of Wade’s Cooreei corn flour mill. The mill that operated on the banks of the Williams River opposite the town of Dungog between 1878 and 1902.

Cooreei mill (named after the prominent hill below which it stood) measured 120 feet by 40 feet, had three floors above and one below ground, and was built on hardwood piles of weatherboard that were oiled not painted. It also had brick drying rooms, a 3,000 gallon tank that was 16 feet by 6 feet by 5 feet, a reservoir with filters, and was powered by a 24 hp steam engine imported from Scotland, with grinding stones imported from France. The entire mill was 18 months in building, cost between £6,000 to £7,000 and commenced operations in mid-1878.1  In 1889 the Cooreei cornflour mill installed its own fire engine, named ‘The Fire King’ and it was reported that: ‘There are 500 feet of wrought iron pipes laid underground round the mills, with three stand pipes situated in different positions, so that one length of hose pipe would reach the seat of fire in any part of the building.’2  The Dungog Municipal Council rates book for 1895 has an entry for a ‘Maizena mill & 2 cottages’ with a capital value of £6,000, the owner being listed as John Wade & Co.3 Wade & Co. was owned by two people, John Wade and R L Alison. The mill’s manager was Kenneth McDonald from Scotland and it employed from 8 to 16 men plus 40 to 45 packing girls

From the original edition of the Town & Country Journal.