| The
development of the Lithgow woollen mills is associated
with the Andrew
Brown's milling activities on his Cooerwull estate.
In 1837 Brown built a flour mill to grind wheat that had
been grown on his property and in the surrounding district.
With
a growing emphasis on pastoral activities in the area,
by 1857 Brown
had replaced the machinery associated with the flour milling
with machineryto mill wool. To further develop his milling
operations, Brown encouraged a family of weavers from
Scotland to move to Australia to assist him in the development
of his wool mill. A woolwash was established and machinery
to manufacture tweeds was developed. The machinery consisted
of some small plant and a number of hand looms. The woollen
mill was operational until 1875 when a new mill,with more
up-to-date machinery was introduced to the site. |
A
waterwheel and steam engine supplied power to the mill
until 1896 when they were replaced with a large boiler
and engine. Further modifications were made to the mill
in 1898.
The
importance of the Tweed mill to the Lithgow economy was
strengthened through the award of a contract to produce
military khakis for the Australian Army. The operation
of the mills continued for 115 years, ceasing production
in 1972. Its contribution to local employment is well
recognised through the history of the town's development.
The
City of Greater Lithgow acknowledges and appreciates the
History excerpts taken from the Draft
Economic Development Strategy for Lithgow
which was researched and compiled by Economic and Community
Development Class, University of Sydney October 1996 |
