A Nineteenth Century Company Town
On the shores of windswept Lake Cootharaba, about a two kilometre walk from the camping ground at Elanda Point, you'll find the rare remains of a small settlement. An old chimney, tank stand, mango and guava trees and boiler are some of the more obvious remnants from the nineteenth century company town Mill Point.
Lake Cootharaba from Mill Point
According to Noosa Council/Queensland Government information boards at the site, after prospering during the Gympie gold rush, 'McGhie, Luya and Company' invested £2000 in establishing a sawmill at Mill Point, which by the 1880s employed up to 150 men. The sawmill covered around 25 hectares and included workshops for blacksmiths and carpenters, stables, hotel, post office, a school and houses for around 60 families.
At its peak, the sawmill produced 3 ½ million super feet of timberin one year. Timber getters collected kauri pine and red cedar in Cooloola and Kin Kin scrubs, which was initially transported to the sawmill by bullock teams and later, a tramway. The sawn timber was floated on a paddle steamer downriver to Colloy - on the north bank of the Noosa River at Tewantin. It was then taken by steamer to Brisbane. About another two kilometres north along the easy walking track is Kin Kin Creek, the contrast between the unfelled north side and the cleared land to the south is a striking example of 'before and after'.
An Old Chimney and Tank Stand
The saw mill closed in 1892 and the property was transferred a number of times. The early 1890s were a time of economic depression and severe flooding occurred in the area in 1893. Dairy farmers worked the land from 1910 until 1975 when Elanda Point was gazetted as a national park. The Queensland Government took ownership in 1983.
A team of archaeologists from the University of Queensland, headed by PhD candidate Karen Murphy, have undertaken several field surveys at Mill Point throughout the past couple of years. You can view the field diary on the internet at:
http://www.atsis.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=42042&pid=42037
The Boiler
Last month [November, 2006] Ms Murphy presented a lecture at the Queensland Museum and discussed the historical treasures unearthed by her team of archaeologists at Mill Point. So far the team has uncovered items such as basic cutlery and dinnerware (with a 19th century cable pattern) and beer, whiskey and schnapps bottles.
Interestingly the only brand of Worcestershire sauce bottle they found was 'Lea And Perrins'. Ms Murphy said that this could be explained by the fact that the company dictated what was delivered to the settlement. 'Holbrook's' Worcestershire sauce bottles were often found in gold mining settlements. The community clearly dined on fresh shellfish and beef, as evidenced by the pieces of bone and numerous oyster and, pipi shells which have been uncovered. There are plans to also research the traces of the original indigenous uses of the area.
Jars of 'Holy's' ointment - a multi-function product which claimed to cure sore breasts among other ailments – were found, along with bottles which would have contained patent medicines and tonics with high concentrations of narcotics. Members of the community obviously took pride in their appearance, as two brands of hair loss tonic, perfume bottles, a comb, a metal heel from a shoe, buttons and an earring were also found.
Ceramic dolls' faces originating from Germany and miniature tea sets give an insight into how the children played, and the discovery of slates and slate pencils testify to the school that existed at the settlement. Household items including ink bottles, a padlock, porcelain lamp stand and the top of a ceramic baby's feeding bottle were also found. Many clay pipes have been retrieved – this was the common way to smoke tobacco before cigarettes were invented just prior to World War One.
The archaeaology of this fascinating site and the personal items uncovered, give an insight into the every day life of the workers and their families and provide an intimate link to the people who lived at Mill Point in the late 19th century. The history of the place, which was founded during a boom and abandoned just as swiftly after only twenty years, illustrates its relevance today for towns which are driven by a solely commercial imperative!