An unexpected turn of events led us to The Old Mill in South Perth recently. Despite many years living here, we had never managed to actually visit this lovely icon of Perth’s colonial past. However a large bushfire, which had closed off our intended destination, Kings Park, led to a change of plan.
Situated on the southern foreshore of the Swan River near the Narrows Bridge and the constant flow of traffic from the Kwinana Freeway, it was saved in the late 1950s from the developers’ plan to demolish it to make way for the freeway off-ramp. A dedicated group of campaigners, including the local historical society, persuaded the powers that be to reconsider and the Mill Point off-ramp now winds round south of the mill.
Having undergone refurbishment in 1994, the mill survives to this day as a fascinating link to the early pioneering days of the Swan River Colony.
The mill is open to the public at no cost though donations are greatly appreciated! Owned and managed by the City of South Perth (see here for further details), we were fortunate to be given a guided tour by the lady managing the office, Sylvia, who, passionate about the history and preservation of the mill, gave us some fascinating background information.
The earliest mill was constructed by a young engineer from Winchester who arrived from England in 1829, William Kernot Shelton. At one point in the 19th century under the auspices of “Satan” Browne (so called because of his jet black hair) it was converted into a hotel! We looked round the cottage that was used by the miller and saw the old ovens where the loaves were baked and the extensive collection of historical kitchenware. It must have been such a tough life for those early settlers!
The little canal that led back down to the river has been filled in with locally quarried limestone but you can follow the channel back to the river where there is a lovely little picnic and play area called “Millers Pond”.
We headed off to Angelo Street in South Perth for lunch wondering why it had taken us so long to discover this wonderful gem from Perth’s past!
Copyright © 2018 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose. All rights reserved
Le Chic En Rose 
What a delightful mill. I always enjoy seeing the colonial history.
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Yes I always love these places too – you do have to search for the history sometimes in Perth but it’s got more to it than the modern city skyline and the new build suburbs suggest! Hobart has some lovely colonial buildings!
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Maybe not the comfiest bed, but what a fun place to have stayed in as a hotel. I can just imagine packing the picnic hamper. 🙂 🙂 Lovely share, Rosemay!
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Thanks Jo yes it looks a bit spartan to me and think it must have been more elaborately furnished as a hotel! The river is a lovely spot – there’s always a lovely breeze coming off the water! 😃😃
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I love when I find something new to discover near to home. Very charming place. I hope the bush fire has not been too destructive for the beautiful Kings Park?
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It was quite a bad one unfortunately burnt out about 1% of the total park area but not the main part overlooking the river. We haven’t been down there since but presume it is all open again. The Old Mill was a charming place to walk round and get a feel for the history 🙂
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I think you often ignore places on your doorstep – they’re always there so there seems to be no hurry! Lovely visit.
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Yes I think that’s so true Anabel for some reason we just never got round to going before! We had my father visiting – always the way you go to more places when you have visitors!
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Great visit…too often we don’t take the time to visit what is in own backyard…but it is fun when it is done. (Suzanne)
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So true Suzanne – this is a lovely and charming side of Perth that can get lost with the modern sky scrapers of the city!
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What a wonderful place, it tells so much history! Thank you for sharing your awesome photos!
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Thanks Cecilia – it’s lovely this place has been preserved amidst so much modernisation! Glad you enjoyed the photos too 😃
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We must check this out. Knew it was there but we always
seem to be passing by going elsewhere!
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It’s well worth the little detour. If you check out the link it will tell you the opening times – we had the place to ourselves and a free guided tour (though of course we made a donation!).
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Thanks I have passed it on!
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