Katanning Mill Opening.
Following the construction of the Great Southern Railway and the arrival of Frederick and Charles Piesse, Katanning started its development as the major centre it has become today. The brothers set up their mobile store, with which they had followed the southward bound railway construction camp, at what is now the Royal Exchange Hotel.’ This was followed by the construction of a single storey store and then their iconic flour mill, – The Premier Roller Flour Mill. They then replaced their single storey building next door with a fine two-storey building which also remains today.
The following is the full report of the opening of the flour mill 26 March 1891, as recorded in the Australian Advertiser newspaper, which was based in Albany:
OPENING OF THE ROLLER FLOUR MILL
AT KATANNING,
THE OPENING CEREMONY.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MILL.
SPEECHES AT THE LUNCHEON
BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER
The Australian Advertiser (Albany)
4 May 1891 – P3
THE opening of the roller flour mill at Katanning on Thursday last was a great affair. There have been many similar celebrations in this colony – of railways, public buildings, and also mills, but never has any celebration been carried out with such spirit as the opening of the Premier Roller Flour Mill.
The integrity, enterprise, energy, and success of the Messrs. Piesse seem to have won for them the admiration and esteem of the people of the colony, and thus the responses to the invitations to be present at Katanning on Thursday were very numerous.
It had been arranged that the opening ceremony should take place at about two o’clock, this time being fixed to allow of the arrival of trains from north and south. At about one o’clock the train from Beverley arrived and every carriage was crowded. No less than 75 persons had booked at Wagin Lake and 40 at Beverley. Altogether over 150 arrived by this train at Katanning to be present at the opening celebration.
Soon afterwards the South train came in and it again brought a crowd. The engines of both trains were gaily decorated, and Mr. Venner, the stationmaster, had adorned the platform and citation buildings in a pretty manner with greenstuff.
To the visitors Katanning must have presented a striking spectacle. Flags and banners were waving in all directions, and on the top cornerstones of the mill itself had been placed palms, while above from the flagstaff waved the Union Jack.
Host Chipper’s Katanning Hotel was already crowded, but the advent of these visitors from afar filled it to excess, and everybody was content to get room for luggage and a chance of performing their ablutions prior to taking part in the proceedings of the day.
An inspection of the mill and its surroundings followed and it showed that a vast amount of work had been undergone to prepare for the great day. The mill had been given a preliminary run upon the previous Friday and had worked exceedingly well; and now everything was made ready for visitors. The chief work of Wednesday, however, was the preparation of the wheat shed for the luncheon and ball. This shed is 100 feet long and about 70 ft wide, with the railway siding running between.
Wheat was stacked on either side, and on Wednesday morning, when the work of preparation was begun, it must have seemed a hopeless task to make the shed look presentable for the morrow. Mr. Charles Piesse, who had charge of these preparations, is a stupendous worker – no other word will describe his capacity for work. With a few assistants he began. The wheat was stacked all on one side, the railway was filled in with bags of chaff, and a jarrah floor laid upon it, and the northern section of the shed, a space of 80 ft by 30 ft, cleared. Next came the making of the tables, which were over 70ft long, three in number, with a cross table – the covering of them with linen – the making of seats – and the decorating of the whole place with flags and greenstuff. The work went on to midnight of Wednesday, and no Aladdin’s lamp could have created a more complete transformation.
From a rough shed it was transformed into really a handsome banqueting room, and the immense stack of 8,000 bags of wheat, in the southern section of the shed, only added to the general effect. What was done in this shed in a day was something akin to the greater transformation that Messrs Piesse have effected in Katanning within eighteen months. They have an Aladdin’s lamp in their energy, which is a sufficiently effective transformer to those who possess it.
Then, among other preparations that we noticed being made on Wednesday night was the cleaning of the ware for the use of 300 people at the luncheon – all of it being taken out of Messrs. Piesse’s ordinary stock in store as were also the numerous lamps used in lighting the shed. It was not until the early hours of Thursday that Katanning sank to sleep, for it must be remembered that until the Messrs. Piesse are at rest, the town is not.
Every thing was then in readiness on Thursday morning, but few of the visitors would be able to realize the amount of labor that it all had entailed. The weather on Thursday was bright and pleasant; better could not have been desired.
The scene after the arrival of the trains was a very lively one. The town was crowded and every few moments brought in more people who had come in by road. Many of those present had driven many miles to take part in the celebration. Altogether the town contained on that afternoon nearly six hundred people. Amongst those present who had come from a distance were, Mr. W. R. Piesse, the father of the Messrs. Piesse and six other sons. One of these sons had come from Esperance Bay to be present on this occasion, and as was stated by the Hon. J. A. Wright at the luncheon, the father and his eight sons met that day for the first time for seventeen years and they met on a proud day.
Just before the opening ceremony Mr. W. R. Piesse and his eight sons were photographed by Mr. Parry, and a splendid picture they made. Mr. W. R. Piesse stood in the middle and had four of his stalwart sons on either side of him with he, by far, the shortest man of the lot. When the photograph had been taken, the people cheered heartily, so much had the spectacle of the reunion of the father and eight sons moved them.
The people now went about the mill inspecting it, and unanimous were the opinions as to its splendid appearance. Then the people collected in the engine room, or as many of them as could enter, to witness the starting of the mill. Here, the Hon. J. A. Wright took up his position at the valve.
Mr. F. H. Piesse addressing him said: “Mr Wright, I have very great pleasure in asking you to do us the honor of starting the machinery of this mill.”
The Hon. J. A. Wright said: “Mr Piesse and gentlemen, it gives me the greatest pleasure in the world to start this engine, and at the same time in doing it, to start an industry that is required in this district. And I wish success to the Premier Roller Mill and prosperity to its spirited owners. Prolonged cheering followed, and then the people entered the mill to watch the machinery in motion.”
The flour mill with the original single storey Piesse store next door.
Before proceeding further we must give a description of
THE MILL
It was in July of last year that the Messrs. F. and C. Piesse decided to erect a roller flour mill. They had all the preliminaries arranged within nine days of their coming to a decision. The contract for the building was given to Messrs. Thorn, Bower, & Stewart, of York, and so energetically did they push on with it that the whole was completed in 15 weeks.
The contract for the supply of the machinery was given to Mr O. C. Schumacher of Victoria, who had most satisfactorily carried out a similar contract for Mr. Byfield, of Northam, and Mr. Clinch of Greenough.
A most sensible course was followed, for Mr. Schumacher provided plans not only for the machinery but also for the building. The result is a most excellently arranged mill, adapted in every detail for the purpose for which the building was erected. The site of the mill is the corner of Messrs F. and C. Piesse’s large block in Austral Terrace, which immediately faces the railway station.
A siding leaves the main line at a turntable at the northern end of the station platform, crosses Austral Terrace, passes the mill on the South side and then goes into and through the large wheat shed beyond. It will thus be seen that there will not be any difficulty in placing the wheat purchased under cover, nor in taking it from the wheat store to the mill.
The manager of the W.A. Land Company, the Hon J. A. Wright, has been, it is evident, determined that this new industry should not lack for railway facilities. Standing as it does in the midst of a new township where most of the buildings are of iron, the mill looks prominent, even striking.
But even if it were surrounded by good brick buildings, it would still be noticeable for its substantial and neat appearance. It is of brick and has a basement and three stories. The total height is 42ft. and it covers a site of 50ft by 35ft. At the rear is the stack 65ft high.
The basement is to be used for the storage of perishable goods connected with the general store. The, first, second and third floors are occupied solely by milling machinery. And the machines on these stories are as bewildering as a maze. Pulleys and bolting and pipes and machines fill each large floor with activity as great as that of a beehive. We read in Holy Writ of women grinding corn with stones – a method that is simplicity itself. The mere act of crushing a grain of corn is not in itself a complicated operation. We all can remember the old stone mills where there was an abundance of dust and cobwebs; and where the operation of milling was comparatively simple. Any one visiting a roller flour mill must set aside all these primitive ideas, for they are no assistance whatever to the understanding of a roller mill. The latter may be described as the high art of milling.
Here in this mill at Katanning the most complicated of milling operations are performed; and the visitor cannot but feel a sense of admiration at the ingenuity manifested in all the processes.
We will endeavor to give an idea of what happens to the wheat during its passage from the store to the flour bag, ready for market. The truck laden with the bags of wheat is brought alongside the platform at the mill door. The bags are wheeled by hand barrows just inside the mill door. Near here are a number of elevator pipes, nine in number, we believe, which resemble nothing more than the pipes of an organ. These pipes end in “boots,” the technical term for the wooden frame on which they are set.
Just in front of No 2 elevator is a hopper in the floor, and into this hopper the wheat is poured. Within the elevator are little tin cups on a belt, and these pick up the wheat and carry it aloft, right up to the top floor. The elevator passes the wheat from the hopper into a screen or horizontal reel on the top floor. Part of the mesh in the screen is hexagonal in shape, and in this part of the reel much of the refuse passes out, while the wheat travels on to the further end, where it drops through perforated zinc, leaving more of the refuse behind, the latter entering a tube, and dropping to the ground floor, where it is bagged.
From the screen on the top floor, the wheat is shot down to the intermediate floor and into the oat and barley separator. In this machine the wheat is passed on to a sieve through which it drops, while the oats and barley, being larger, pass over to be shot down to the ground floor and bagged. Being thus rid of the oats and barley that may have been in it, the wheat is next sent down to the ground floor into the smutting machine.
Here, by a beating and fan action, the smut and further refuse is removed. From the smutter the wheat now passes into No. 1 elevator and is carried from the ground floor to the top floor for the second time, where it is emptied into No. 1 bin, a large wooden erection.
The removal of a slide in this bin allows the wheat to fall again to the intermediate floor and into a gravel and mineral separator. This is the only mill in the colony that has this machine, and the Messrs. Piesse have already proved its value. By a most ingenious action of a fan, the wheat is blown over an arch in the machine, while stones, minerals and other foreign matters heavier than the grain, fall by dint of specific gravity into the receptacle below.
After leaving this separator, the wheat is for the third time lifted to the top floor to again pass through the screening machine, falls again to the second floor to again go through the oat and barley separator, and then to the ground floor, and put for the second time through the smutter. It will be seen that the wheat has been twice through the screening machine, the oat and barley separator and the smutter, and once through the gravel and mineral separator. Every care having been taken to remove all foreign matter, it is now considered that the wheat is in a proper condition for being converted into flour. After leaving the smutter for the second time, No. 1 elevator takes it from the ground floor to the top floor, and into what is known as No. 2 bin, which adjoins No. 1 bin. The wheat is removed from the elevator to the bin by a large steel conveyor, which is worked on the Archimidean screw principle.
It is now converted into flour. From No. 2 bin it is conveyed down to the second floor into the rollers. It enters the round sectional rollers, and before it leaves the machine it receives what are known as the first, second, and third breaks. It is then passed on through the cylindrical scalper on the ground floor, which separates the coarse material from the break flour. The scalper here is elevated, being hung up to the ceiling on the ground floor. The coarse material from it goes to one of the elevators, and thence to the purifier on the top floor. This purifier forks with an eccentric shake, and removes the greater proportion of the coarse stuff still left.
The fine stuff goes below to the smooth rollers, and the tailings to another set of smooth rollers. The break flour from the scalper on the ground floor goes into an elevator which takes it to dressers on the top floor. It is a coarse flour when it leaves the scalper, and the dresser separates the superfine, leaving the coarser material to go below for treatment in the smooth rollers.
Within the dresser is a large cylinder covered with silk, and the flour is forced into this. This silk can be tightened whenever desired by means of a screw at the tail of the dresser. The motion of the cylinder keeps the flour in action against the silk and it passes through and goes thence into an elevator and finally into another dresser – or what is called a re-dresser – on the same floor. This re-dresser is immediately over the large flour bin, which extends from the top floor to tho ground floor. This bin will hold over four tons of flour. As the flour leaves the re-dresser it enters the flour bin, and is then ready for packing for market.
This rough sketch will give some idea of the manifold operations that are gone through in the production of flour in a roller mill. Having reached the flour bin, we may mention the manner in which it is made ready for market. To the bottom of the flour bin is attached a Eureka packer. The bag is hung on to this, and all that remains to be done is to press a lever to fill the bag. After it is full all that is necessary is to sew it up, the packer not only filling, but weighing the flour.
On the ground floor also are the spouts by which the bran, pollard, screenings, &c. are carried below from the cleaning machines. Everything is done by machinery, and steam provides all the power. There is really not a single lift in the whole of the milling operations. The wheat is tipped into the hopper and is never handled again until it reappears in the form of a bag of flour standing upright under the packer, weighed and ready for market, with the exception of the sewing.
It will thus be seen that the mill is arranged for labor saving as well as efficiency in producing good flour. The machines are placed on the floors as follows:
Ground floor – smutter, packer, cylindrical scalper (Shumacher), hopper and elevator boots (Shumacher), feeder and mixer.
Second Floor – oat and barley separator – sectional roller and scalper, two sets of smooth rollers – gravel and mineral separator – cylindrical scalper (separating bran and pollard).
Top Floor – Five dressers (Shumacher), three dust collectors, nine sets elevator heads, one wheat screen, one purifier (for middlings, &c.), one bran duster.
The elevators are worked by chain pulleys, and all the machines are driven from belts connected with the main shaft on the ground floor. The power is obtained from a 16 h.p. engine by Robinson & Sons, of Rochdale, England, and 30 h.p. boiler by James Martin & Co., Gawler, South Australia. The engine-room is at the rear of the main mill building. The machinery has been erected under the superintendence of Mr. W. C. Bice, the representative of Mr. Schumacher.
Some of the machines are in kauri pine and some in jarrah frames, the wood being polished; and they look really handsome, standing as they do in the brightly lighted rooms of the mill. The mill has cost, fully equipped, about £6,000. It will produce about 4 tons of flour per day of 12 hours, the time that it is intended for the present that it shall be worked.
The Messrs. Piesse have on hand already about 8000 bags of wheat, of which 1500 bags were received from the district between Katanning and Beverley. This will keep the mill working until after next harvest when it is expected that the local yield will be much greater. The wheat shed is 100ft. by 60ft with the siding running down the middle and will cover 12,000 bags.
The Messrs. Piesse have made arrangements for putting in an electric light plant; and the work of putting it in will be shortly begun.
The mill was set going for a trial spin on Friday, April 24, and was kept going up till the following Wednesday afternoon. The flour produced was of splendid quality, as was proved not only by handling, but by baking.
This mill may be considered as the most complete roller mill in the colony. It has a gravel separator and a re-dresser, both valuable machines, which are not to be found in any other mill in the colony; and the flour bin is also a great improvement. This is the third mill erected by Mr. Schumacher in this colony and under the superintendence of Mr Bice. The millwright at Katanning informed us that he considered that Mr, Piesse had the most complete roller mill in the colony, and that the flour turned out is quite equal to anything in South Australia.
The people fully inspected the marvels of the machinery of the roller mill, with the assistance of the millers and of Mr. Bice, Mr. Schumacher’s representative. The machinery moved with ease – without a rattle. The noise it made is like nothing more than the humming of a well-spun top. They saw the wheat put into the hopper; they saw what was transpiring in the various machines; and they saw the bags of flour taken from the Eureka packer, and they all admired.
After this the mill was stopped, and the people turned their attention to
THE LUNCHEON.
Then luncheon was partaken of by about 280 persons at the first sitting down. Mr. Frederick Henry Piesse M.L.A. presided, and he had on his right the Hon J. A. Wright, Mr. J. F. T. Hassell J.P., the Mayor of Albany (Mr. R. Muir J.P,), the Rev W. F. Marshall, Mr. W. H. Graham, and Mr. Charles Piesse, and on his left Mr. W. R. Piesse, Mr. Throssell M.L.A.,
Mr. John Moir J.P., Mr. C. C. Smith and Mr. Stewart (of Thorn, Bower and Stewart). At the completion of the repast the usual loyal toasts were honored.
The Chairman then gave “His Excellency the Governor.” “It gave him great pleasure in proposing this toast although His Excellency was not present that day. They (the Messrs. Piesse) owing to the railway arrangements and to the fact of the limited accommodation, had decided that they could not do more than entertain their friends of the Southern Districts and also their friends of the Eastern Districts. They would remember that when the Governor arrived in the colony they did their best to welcome him, and His Excellency seemed to be very pleased with his reception at Katanning. He hoped that in the future at some similar gathering they would have the presence of the Governor. (Cheers). The toast was drunk with musical honors.”
The Hon J. A. WRIGHT on rising to propose the toast of the day “Success to the Premier Roller Flour Mill” was received with loud cheering. He said: I hope you have all charged your glasses bumpers high as the toast I am about to propose deserves the fullest bumper you can possibly fill. (Cheers.) It is my privilege to propose the toast of the day, and it is a toast that I feel sure you will all unite with me in drinking to the fullest extent of your hearts – it is “Success to the Premier Roller Flour Mill; and prosperity and lasting prosperity to its spirited owners, the Messrs. F. & C. Piesse.” (Cheers.) “It appears to me, standing here amongst you all – seeing here this collection of settlers at a spot where only the other day there was not a soul – it seems to me almost like fairyland. I cannot understand where the enchanter’s wand can have been that has produced the marvellous change that we now perceive in this country.” (Cheers.)
“There is no change in the land, but a new spirit has been introduced into the district, and that spirit is represented by our friends the Messrs. Piesse.” (Cheers.) “It is not more than two years ago – it is not so long as two years ago – that this place was nothing but bush. It was bush unknown to those who ought to have known it best – the people of Western Australia.
This country was not believed in by the people of Western Australia, and even today, when we speak about its excellence to them, they doubt our accuracy and have a suspicion even of our sanity.” (Laughter.) “Allow me to say that we are perfectly sane, and the best evidence of that is the 800 tons of wheat that we see in this shed and which is going to be ground into good flour for consumption by West Australians.” (Laughter and Cheers.)
“Look at what we are going to produce for ourselves, and look at what we are not going to import from the other colonies.” (Laughter and Cheers.) “We have been shown here today by Mr. Piesse that Western Australia is well able to take care of herself, and the whole of this change has been wrought by what we must see amongst the whole of the people throughout the length and breadth of the land – energy, perseverance and faith in the colony.” (Cheers.)
“What we want is that this railway shall show what the county can do and we are showing it today, or rather Mr. Piesse is showing it to us, and we must admit that what he has shown us is the finest sight we have seen in this district. What he has done can be followed by every one of us – can be followed in smaller ways by every farmer and settler in the place. He has put up a mill; it is for you to send the grist.” (Cheers). “Before this railway was made the settlers in these districts were obliged to send their wheat to York to be ground. Well, I am sorry for the York people, but I am glad for the people of Katanning, and I am rejoiced for all of us that the old conditions are done away with, and that you can get your wheat made into flour in your own district and in the best possible manner.” (Cheers).
“I hope that the example of the Messrs. Piesse will be followed by others, if not in large things, in small things. Those that are able, let them put up other mills – bark mills, roller flour mills – till and cultivate the land – everything to develop our resources, because I feel perfectly certain that the time has come when we should take advantage of our being the nearest port in Australia to the old country.” (Cheers).
“Why should South Australia, or any other colony, take a front seat before Western Australia?” (Cheers). “We can produce wheat – we can produce flour and we can ship it from here, and I hope and trust that in a very short time we shall find that this is being done. It is to be done if we have the energy, perseverance and faith that has produced the wonderful change we see around us.” (Cheers).
“For myself, I have always had the most perfect faith in Western Australia – its capabilities and its powers. I wish that everybody had that faith as highly advanced as I have, because I feel certain that with it, the country would advance with leaps and bounds. We should not therefore go crawling along, but before two or three years were passed we should not import a single article of food into this colony and, on the other hand, we should have enough for export.” (Cheers). “As I said before, this place was unknown a short time ago. I believe in it, but I would ask some of you visitors to go and look around tomorrow and view the land. You will find it producing crops so good that the other colonies cannot even compete with us. I have seen the land in the other Colonies, and I have seen this, and I prefer the land of Western Australia.” (Loud cheers).
“As there are other gentlemen to speak, and as we have very many other things to receive from the hospitality of the Messrs. Piesse today, I will simply now conclude by asking you to drink success to the Premier Roller Flour Mill, and prosperity to the Messrs. Piesse in all their undertakings.” (Cheers). The toast was drunk with cheers.
The Chairman, Mr. F. H. Piesse, was received with prolonged cheering on rising to respond. He said: “In rising to respond to the toast that you have honored me in drinking so heartily, I must say that I consider this the happiest moment of my life. In connection with my brother I have had business relations with this district for eleven years, and I resided here six years prior to my connection with business. I am glad to have the assurance of the Hon. J. A. Wright that this district must in the future prosper. If we had not had this assurance from our own knowledge of the district, there is not the slightest doubt that we should have feared to carry out this undertaking. We have of course had a long experience here. Beginning with very little, we have grown with the district.
Our start in the Williams District was a very small one indeed; and we have gone on until we have almost reached the height of our ambition. I do not say that we will not continue pushing onwards, but we would like now to see others taking the field and helping forward the district with ourselves.” (Cheers.) “We did not enter upon the erection of this mill without careful consideration and we decided that perseverance and energy only were required to make it a success. We cannot, of course, attain this end alone. We must rely upon the farmers to help us and, unless they work with a will and unless they and we push and pull together, we shall never accomplish our end.” (Cheers).
“What we hope to see is that we shall have sufficient wheat grown in the immediate district to keep us going fully during the years to come. We cannot expect this at once as the country is not all occupied and what is occupied is not developed, but we hope to see it so in the near future. We have the advantages here of a railway, a mill, and climate and good land and all that remains to be done is the development of the country.” (Cheers.)
“There is one thing I would like to mention in connection with the mill. There is a gentleman here who has given me very great assistance although no doubt, in one sense we are rivals – I refer to Mr. James Byfield. My brother, Mr. Charles Piesse, had been to Northam to see Mr. Byfield’s mill and, on his return he said, ‘We must have a mill here.’ That was the first suggestion of this mill, and it was made on July 1 of last year. On the 8th of July, I went to Northam and saw Mr. Byfield’s mill and I saw at once that we could not go in for a better undertaking. With Mr. Byfield’s assistance and by his advice we at once entered into negotiations with Mr. Schumacher, and you see the result.” (Cheers)
“I may say that was this partaken result, so far, is satisfactory to us. With reference to Mr. Byfield, the spirit he showed in the matter was of the highest. He could not have done better for us than he did, nor have met us in a more friendly spirit, although he must have known that we would take grist from his mill to a certain extent.” (Cheers). “There must, however, be more mills in the country than one, and the interests of this district are identical with those of the South, and the South must depend upon itself. We have the port of Albany to look to, and the increasing demand there; and there is no reason why we should not supply that demand.” (Cheers).
“Mr. Wright referred just now to the wheat you see here. This remark was made in a very kindly spirit, but I cannot let it pass without mentioning that a great deal of it has come from the districts of Moorumbine, Beverley and York. At the same time I may tell you that we look forward to in the future producing it ourselves. All the districts south of Beverley must look to Albany as their port, and they will, I am sure, find prosperity in taking that course.” (Hear, hear.)
“I do not say that we ought to allow any foible like the jealousy between towns such as Fremantle and Albany to interfere with our prosperity. We have heard that the jealousy exists” (No, No,) “and if it does exist, we ought not to encourage, but smother it. We have sufficient in our own district to attract our attention, and we ought not to neglect it. We must do our best with the resources that we have at our disposal; and there is no doubt that the port of Albany is the natural outlet for those resources.” (Cheers.) “I hope that in the very near Future- I do not look forward to the distant future – we shall be large exporters of wheat.” (Cheers).
“We have within ten miles of Katanning, and I may say also within ten miles of the other townships – sufficient land to produce millions of bushels of wheat. We have not consumers here yet but they will come in time and we must be exporters. With the facilities that the port of Albany possesses, I do not see why we should not be the foremost exporters of wheat in the world.” (Loud cheers). “We have the land and it only requires tilling to produce good harvests. We have proved that the yields are a fair average, throughout these districts. As much as 35 bushels per acre are produced within 90 miles of this spot and a yield of 20 bushels per acre has been taken off 100 acres within 60 miles of us. These figures prove that we have the land and that we ought to put it to the best advantage.” (Cheers.)
“There is one thing that I cannot omit to mention and that is with reference to my partner. Mr. Wright referred to myself individually but my brother is identical with me. His interests are mine and mine are his and I rely upon him for advice. Much of the success of this firm is attributed to his forethought and perseverance.” (Cheers).
“I may also say now that the work of erecting the mill has been carried out in a most satisfactory manner by both of the contractors – the contractor for the mill fittings and the contractors for the building.” (Hear hear.)
“When I came to this district (the Williams) sixteen years ago there were only something like 850 people here; today I think the number will be found to be over 2,000, which is a very favorable increase within that period. We are all aware that the District is making some progress and we must look forward to it taking a foremost position. We hope now to stop the importation of flour into Albany. This may be against the interests ot our friends in South Australia and we shall, of course, have prejudice to live down. That prejudice has always been a detriment to Western Australia and Western Australia’s worst friends have been her own people. As a West Australian and a true born West Australian, I hope I may say, that many of us will live to see this country go to the front. Although twitted in years gone by with being the Cinderella of the Colonies, I think that this colony will, in time to come, take the premier position.” (Cheers).
“Anthony Trollope once stated when driving overland from Perth to Albany, ‘That the country was a sand bed and fit only to be put through an hour glass,’ but if he were here now and looked through the country he would find we have more than sand beds – that we have some of the finest agricultural land in the world.” (Cheers). “It is not all good land, but we have a very great deal of good land, and that land only requires tilling to make it profitable.” (Cheers).
“I wish to mention that the business relations we have had with a gentleman at York, Mr. J. H. Monger, have been of the most cordial character and, to a great extent, they have been instrumental in sending forward this large stack of wheat. That business possibly would have been divided amongst others, but Mr. Monger, with his usual forethought, came to the front and secured from us certain conditions of purchase. I do not believe that we should have got so much wheat here today had it not been for the energy of Mr. Monger in pushing the matter forward.” (Cheers).
“There are a number of friends absent today who no doubt would have been present but for an unfortunate case that is being heard in Albany. This case has detained Mr. Fenwick and others; but we have received a telephonic message from them wishing us success, and that shows they have not forgotten the ceremony that we are engaged in.” (Cheers).
“The gathering that we have here to-day is one that makes my heart rejoice. I am very proud to see so many people here and they are, with the exception of one or two, from the Eastern Districts and the South. We have, unfortunately, no Perth or Fremantle people – no one from west of Northam – but that could not be helped, as it was not in our power to entertain any more than we are entertaining here today.
Mr. Wright has referred to the country round about being bush. It was bush 18 months ago, when we planted the first piece of timber upon this land. Only eighteen months ago we started to build that little shop on the roadside and I think, today, there is now upon these two or three allotments £40,000 worth of property.
Gentlemen, I will not detain you any longer, but I will thank you most heartily for the cordial manner in which you have received the toast and I hope that this is the forerunner of many such gatherings, for I believe that they tend to our mutual advancement.” (Cheers.)
MR. C. A. Piesse was loudly cheered on responding. He said: “Any little ability as a speaker I may have had has been carried away by the expressions of good feeling that I have heard so often today. Indeed those expressions of good feeling are so frequent, that I feel almost vain. My brother was quite right when he said that I suggested the building of this roller mill, but to him is due the credit of the main point and that is the carrying of my suggestion to a practical issue”. (Cheers.) “He had the thinking of it out and the labor connected with it, and it is owing to him that the mill is open in so short a time in a locality like this where materials required are so difficult to get.
My brother has touched upon so matters that there is little for me to say, but I would like to give a few words to the farmers and to the settlers present to-day. Most of you have heard of York and Northam as great wheat growing centres. There is a proof of what they can do there in the wheat before us. At the same time I must tell you that you have the making of half-a-dozen places like York and Northam on the Great Southern line if you will only put your shoulders to the wheel.” (Cheers).
“I do not wish to hold ourselves up in any way as an example, but I must say that if you do the same in your capacity as we have done in ours, and work shoulder to shoulder with us for the advancement of the district, you will find that we will outdo York and Northam.” (Cheers).
“While the mill has been building we have done twenty miles of fencing, and our intention is to show what really can be done with the land. Now that the mill is working we will give more time to the land, but the twenty miles of fencing will show that in the different localities where our land lies we have not been idle since the first piece of timber was planted at Katanning.” (Cheers).
“I thank you most cordially for the manner in which you have drunk the health of my brother and myself.” (Cheers).
Flour mill and Piesse store c1895
Mr. G. Throssell, M.L.A., proposed the toast “The Agricultural interests of the colony.” “This toast had not,” he thought, “ever been proposed with such pleasant surroundings. Mr. Piesse had told them that 18 months ago, this place was bare bush, and that day there was £40,000 worth of property around it. If the railway had created Katanning and their worthy host had created the roller mill, the agriculturists had created him. He hoped that was but the beginning of many such pleasant gatherings not only there but throughout Western Australia.” (Cheers).
“As far as the agricultural interests of the colony were concerned, he believed he was right in saying they presented the most bright future. They were on the eve of public works, of railways running east and west through what were claimed to be the best agricultural areas. Mr. Wright had told them that they should have faith in the land; and he claimed to be one of those who always had had faith in the land of Western Australia.” (Cheers.)
“What Mr. Wright had said was what Mr. Piesse had said – that in the very near future Western Australia would hardly know herself.” (Cheers.) “It had been said that if you wanted to hear a very bad account of Western Australia go to a Western Australian for it. If they came to him to hear a bad account of Western Australia they would come to the wrong person.” (Cheers).
“All he had and all he hoped for had been made in the colony. He believed in the land and for ten years past had been making, in his own way, experiments in agriculture. And he was so thoroughly well satisfied with it that if he had £100,000 to spare he would invest it in land and settle people upon it.
Western Australia so far as agriculture was concerned, had a bright future before her. He was told that there were boundless areas of the richest land that only wanted tapping, and when they turned to the fact that they had land in boundless areas, and only about 120,000 acres under cultivation, they would see that with the increasing population there was a grand agricultural future for the colony. When they spoke of agriculture, they did not mean only the usual farm products, but all the classes of fruits that the land was capable of producing. If they wanted any encouragement to proceed in this direction, let them turn to the Blue Book, and see how much fruit, jams and pickles were imported from the neighboring colonies.
And they had proved, and proved conclusively, that there was not a colony in Australia more capable of producing these things than our own sunny West.” (Cheers). “He hoped that that was a day on which they ought to be excused for blowing a little, though there was not a man sitting at that table less given to blowing than he was.’ (Hear, hear). “He would also like to say that agriculture lightly conducted was as good a paying speculation as were the Commercial pursuits of their hosts. Around Katanning 35,000 acres of Government land was now being surveyed and he had it on good authority that it was all excellent land. This land was being cut into blocks of 100 acres to 500 acres, and with the railway facilities they possessed, he believed that agriculture in that district would advance with leaps and bounds. The districts of York and Northam had been working on the old lines for thirty or forty years with the old laws, the old roads, and the stone mill, but at Katanning they were beginning under liberal land laws, with good land and a railway tapping it, and last but not least, the roller flour mill belonging to their hosts.” (Cheers).
“If agriculture would not succeed under those circumstances he did not know under what circumstances, it would succeed.” (Cheers). “But it would succeed, it must succeed, if they had only the qualities of which Mr. Wright spoke – perseverance, energy, and faith in their own land. There was some little alteration required in the settlement of the land. His experience went to show, and he was deeply interested in agriculture, that there ought to be every attempt made to settle the small men around these agricultural areas. Five acre blocks ought to be laid out in connection with these agricultural areas and he would tell them why.
They wanted big labor supply. Everywhere they heard a cry for labor; and the charge was made that they did not make the farmlands comfortable, that they sent them to the barn and gave them bales of wool to lie on. They needed around these areas five acre blocks and not put up to auction, but given to farm laborers on the same terms as the larger blocks were obtained by the farmer, having the same terms for payment as the man who took up 100 or 1000 acres. The small man would attend to his five acres as the farmer attended to his 100 or 1,000 acres, and when the farmer wanted him as a laborer he would know where to find him. This system had answered in South Australia and it would answer in Western Australia. He hoped that they all, both old and young, who had listened to the views of Mr. Piesse and Mr. Wright as to the near future of Western Australia would live to recall those remarks as prophetic. He was no prophet, but he believed that their predictions would be realised if only the young men there would follow the example of the Messrs. Piesse.” (Cheers).
“He was pleased and delighted to be there that day and to express what he felt at the work that bad been accomplished in such a short time by two young men who left his district (Northam) ten short years ago; and he was sure that they would not be angry with him when he said that they did not take £40,000 with them when they left Northam.” (Cheers).
The flour mill with the new two-storey Piesse building next door.
Mr. J. F. T. Hassell, in responding, said that he had been in the colony for over fifty years. He had always maintained in years gone by that what was wanted to open up a lot of good land was a line from Albany to Mount Barker. Twenty years ago his lamented friend, Mr. Anthony Hordern had consulted him with regard to the capabilities of the land in the Southern portion of the colony. During the past years those who had lived in the Southern part of the colony had not been idle and what was more, what they had got now, they owned. They had perhaps moved slowly but they had many difficulties to contend with that were now removed. The railway had opened up land that would maintain not merely thousands but millions of people – land that would feed the people of this colony and leave a great quantity for export to the markets of the world. (Cheers.)
Much of the wheat that they saw in that shed had come from York, but in the near future they would produce in their own districts many thousands of bushels every year. There was a great quantity of good land stretching right away from Katanning to Jerrymongup. It was not all good land, but there were great areas of good land. Then there was the 150 miles of land between Katanning and Blackwood – all wheat producing country. He was not an agriculturist but a wool grower and he might mention that his father, in one year, had earned £6000 off the Kendinup estate. The only drawback to the country was the need for the supply of permanent water stores.
At the present time he was developing 26,000 acres of land purchased by Lord Brassey, and also 13,000 acres bought by himself from the Land Company. This showed that he was not taking his money out of the country. He was cultivating about 70 acres on Lord Brassey’s estate that had been used by the late Dowager Lady Campbell, and this land had produced 700 bushels of wheat (off 30 to 35 acres) and 😯 tons of hay. If that was not good enough to induce any man who was an agriculturist to come to this colony he did not know what was good enough.
The roller mill that day had seemed to him very like a dream, the time since the land about there was mere bush being so short. He believed that the member for Albany had said in the House of Assembly that one acre of land in the Bunbury district was worth ten acres of land in the Albany district. Was that the case ? (No, no.) It was not a fact, for there was an immense quantity of good land between Albany and Beverley. He had not the slightest doubt that those good men who had brought the railway into the country – the shareholders of the Great Southern Railway – would, with the liberality they had shown to himself and to others, give special terms for the first year for the export of wheat to Albany – say even 5s. per ton. (Cheers) With encouragement like that he believed that they would grow wheat enough, not only to supply the mills, but to send large shipments to other parts of the world. (Cheers).
Mr. W. H. Graham of Fairfield also responded. “He was”, he said, “one of the oldest settlers in that district, but he had been absent from the colony for eight or ten years. He had come back and hoped to remain, and to become one of the agriculturists of the district. He had been away for two and a half years, and the change, to him that day was, he must say, extraordinary. A great deal of the credit for this was due to the Great Southern Railway. (Cheers). That place would not have existed but for the railway. Although he might express himself as one of the persons who suffered very greatly from the railway, having been dispossessed of his leaseholds, he must say that the railway had been of great benefit to the colony. It had opened up large tracts of land; and if they had a few more settlers like the Messrs. Piesse the prospects of the colony were assured.” (Cheers).
Mr. Lukin (York) also responded. “Agriculture,” he said, “was of very great importance in any country, and he hoped it would become of very great importance in Western Australia. Agriculture in the past had been hampered for want of an adequate market for one of it’s main products – wheat. That want had now been removed through, first the enterprise of Mr. Byfield and now of Mr. Piesse.
Wheat was now a marketable product. They would be able to satisfy not only their own wants, but they must look forward to an export trade in the near future. He quite believed that this year the output of wheat could almost meet the demand, and the next season, if blessed with a good harvest, the output would more than supply the home demand. He was pretty sure of that, and, therefore, they must look for an export market. He had no doubt that their hosts (the Messrs. Piesse) had this in their mind when they built their mill here right on the railway, which was in touch with the only port in which were facilities for export.
He was also glad to see that wheat and flour were going up for that fact would give the Messrs. Piesse a rich reward for their enterprise in purchasing between thirty and forty thousand bushels of wheat.” (Cheers).
Flour mill with horse drawn rail wagons c1935
The Chairman next gave “Success to the Great Southern Railway.” “It gave him very great pleasure indeed in proposing this toast. As Mr. Graham had very rightly observed – had it not been for this railway the town of Katanning would not have existed, and they would not have been at that festive board.” (Cheers.) “The Great Southern Railway had done wonders for that portion of the colony, and although it had received very severe denunciation from many sources it had been the means of opening up an immense amount of good land, and it must be the instrument in the future of developing their interests.” (Cheers.)
“When the railway was first mooted about seven or eight years ago, they all thought that it would not be carried out. At that time the spot on which Katanning stood was looked upon as back country altogether. The railway had completely changed the face of things. They had seen there that day that much progress was being made. That progress was not observed from the carriage window and that was one of the troubles they had to face. Much of the land adjoining the line was not of the quality that the land possessed a little distance away. The line ran through barren tracts of country and thus a journey upon it did not give visitors a proper impression of the resources of the various districts.” (Hear, hear). “It was pity that the line ran through this country, but be supposed the easiest route was selected for construction apart altogether from the quality of the land, and thus it passed through a great deal of bad country. As he had said before, they had any quantity of good land not far from the railway.
Their special thanks were due to the Great Southern Railway for helping them in every possible way. At the commencement of the undertaking, there was not the slightest doubt that there was some delay, and the energy that ought to have been shown in pushing matters forward to the inauguration of so great a work as that was not shown and thus a very serious tax was thrown upon the gentlemen entrusted with the construction and management.
This, he was happy to say, had disappeared. The company were now upon the right track; and he was very pleased now to say that since his friend, the Hon. J. A. Wright, had taken over the management of the railway, things had begun to boom.” (Cheers). “The liberal spirit in which he had met this firm, and, indeed, he might say, all the clients of the Company, was indisputable. If they expected the railway to carry the goods for nothing they were mistaken. There were shareholders to satisfy, and these gentlemen, who resided some ten thousand miles away, wanted to know what was being done here; and the officials here must give satisfactory returns and show what business had resulted from their efforts.
It had often been remarked that the development of this country had not made the progress that it ought to have done. This was not altogether the fault of the country. The building and management of this railway was one branch of the Company’s business, and the development of its agricultural interests should have been placed under the management of an Agricultural Board, or under separate agricultural management.” (Hear, hear). “It would, no doubt, have helped things on instead of checking them, if something had been done to show what really could be done with the country.” (Cheers.)
“That system, there was no doubt about it, would have resulted in the introduction of more people than had settled here.” (Cheers.) “This backward state of things was now disappearing, and he was glad to learn that something was to be done in this direction, and that the Company intended to show what their land would produce.” (Cheers.)
“His firm, as private individuals, were endeavoring to do this, but it was very slow work when so much was in hand. What they wanted was the co-operation of the farmers, and they hoped the Company would use every endeavour to get new settlers to come here. They must not expect the soil to produce crops without work. Farming meant hard work; people who undertook it must not be idle, they must put their whole energy into the thing.” (Cheers.)
“He would ask them to drink success to the Great Southern Railway, coupled with the name of the Hon. J. A. Wright.” (Cheers.) The toast was drunk with musical honors.
The Hon. J. A. Wright, on rising to respond, was received with loud cheers. He said: “I have to return my grateful thanks for the manner in which the toast has been proposed of the company and myself and for the manner in which it has been received by you. This is a very great day I can assure you for the Company – this opening of the roller flour mill – for it means traffic for the railway and prosperity for the whole of our selectors.” (Cheers). “I stand before you as the representative of a much abused Company, of a much abused system, the system of land grant railways.
The system of land grant railways has been very much abused here. We have been told that we were taking the patrimony of the settler – that we were doing a great deal of harm and very little good. I will leave the harm to speak for itself and I will show you the good we have done.” (Cheers.) “The land we are now on was absolutely worthless before the railway was made. No one had taken it up and, although there is land here that we all now know is good, it was not known before the line was made. We now know it and the Government knows it, for they are laying out agricultural areas in our midst. They did not know before the construction of the line that it existed, and it was absolutely worthless.” (Hear, hear).
“Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing the Government take steps for the development of their land. I hope they will succeed in their enterprise; and if I can do anything to assist them – the Company will do everything in its power to assist them.” (Loud cheers.) “In taking this stand we are not entirely selfish in the matter. We see that these agricultural areas will give us traffic very soon and prosperity, and that the value of our lands will be enhanced by the sale of theirs. Now, Mr. Piesse has said that sometime ago there was
a considerable difficulty – that the agricultural interests were neglected, and things of that description. Allow me to assure you that there has been no fault on the part of the Company in that matter. The fault has been out of tho Company’s power. We have not received our title deeds as we ought to have done. Had we received those title deeds, we would have handed over their title deeds to the purchasers of land long ago.
I would ask those two members of the Legislative Assembly – influential members as they are – who are present today to assist us, if necessary, in seeing that those title deeds are given us without delay. This is a matter of considerable importance to us. We only have to the 25th of October of this year before the Government come into competition with us; and yet the deeds of little more than one third of our selections have been received. I
think we are unfairly treated in this matter.
Flour mill c 1960
I know it is said that we have brought actions against the Government. All we did was to get an opinion upon complicated points in so large a contract, we have not got that opinion yet; we hope to get it in the course of time.” (Laughter and cheers.) “There have been one two other things said about us – one. that we have heard with great regret, which is that we have increased our tariff. We have never raised our tariff since it was first fixed, and we do not intend to do so. The Government have raised the tariff on the railways 12 1/2 per cent., but that is their look out.
We, on the other hand, wish to support and develop the country as far as we possibly can and our endeavor has always been to reduce the tariff rather than raise the rates. I believe that in the long run we shall see the wisdom of what we are doing.” (Cheers). “I do not believe in putting on anything like a restrictive tariff, or doing anything that will in the slightest degree restrain the development of the colony.” (Cheers). “If you are going to export wheat we will meet you in a liberal way so that you shall export at your advantage.” (Cheers). “That I am willing to do, and if you can show me, or any officer of the Company, how the Company can develop the land, we are prepared and willing to assist you.” (Cheers). “There is only one other thing that I have to say, and it is that I wish that we had our three million acres full of Piesses.” (Laughter and cheers).
“I do not wish to see the colony disintegrated or not considered as an entirety, but I should like to see it a “Piesseful” colony. That would mean prosperity to them, prosperity to the Company, and prosperity to the land of our birth or adoption.” (Laughter and cheers).
Mr. C. A. Piesse gave the toast of “The Contractors” and gave high praise to the contractors for the building, Messrs. Thorn, Bower and Stewart for the manner in which they had carried out their work, and to Mr Schumacher for the excellence of the machinery, and to Mr. Bice, Mr. Schumacher’s representative, for the careful and accurate manner m which he had erected the machinery.
He would take that opportunity of referring to Mr. Fenwick, the manager of the land branch of tho W.A. Land Company. He was very sorry that Mr. Fenwick was not present. He had, on various occasions, had dealings with the Company’s Land Department, and he had always been received with courtesy. Mr. Fenwick was a thorough worker for the W.A. Land Company, and put a great deal of energy into his work. They had overlooked the traffic manager, Mr. Short. There was not a more popular man on the line than Mr. Short.” (Cheers.) “He was one of the most agreeable men to fill the position he held that he ever met.” (Cheers.) “They would excuse him for bringing these matters forward but he could not let the opportunity slip.” (Cheers.)
Mr. Bice responded for Mr. Schumacher and himself. “He had,” he said, “given his work every care, and he was sure that the Messrs Piesse had one of the most complete roller flour mills in Western Australia, and they well deserved it. He had had some experience in the other colonies with wheat and flour, and he knew that in Western Australia they had both good wheat and good flour.” (Cheers) Wheat and flour that would bear comparison with anything in the other colonies. The flour from Messrs. F. & C. Piesse’s mill was quite capable of competing with anything in South Australia.” (Cheers). “He wished them every success in their venture.” (Cheers).
Mr. Stewart, of Thorn, Bower & Stewart responded for his firm. “He was very pleased,” he said, “that his small efforts had given satisfaction. He had found the Messrs. Piesse thorough men of business and thorough gentlemen, and he would fail in his duty if he did not thank them for the assistance they had given him at all times. He considered that if they had the Messrs. Piesse at the head of any undertaking success was guaranteed.” (Cheers). “His firm could have no greater satisfaction than in erecting buildings of the character of the mill at Katanning on any future occasion.” (Cheers).
The Rev. W. F. Marshall gave the toast of “The Visitors.” Speaking of the Messrs Piesse, he said that though so energetic in looking after the temporal prosperity of Katanning, they were not unmindful of the higher duties of a Christian life, and as an evidence of this they had headed the subscription for the church to be built at Katanning with the generous sum of £100.
The Mayor of Albany, Mr. R. Muir), responded. “That was a sight,” he said, “that he had never thought to see in his life. He had been a settler for a long time in Albany and had never known of Katanning. He honestly declared that since he left Cranbrook that morning he had seen sights that made him feel queer – good, healthy, clean land, fit to be cleared and ploughed and wheat grown upon it.” (Cheers). “But if it had not been for the railway what was the good of it? It could not have been opened up and wheat could not have been grown upon it.” (Cheers). “As to milling he had experience of the steel mill and of the 30 inch stone. He used to grind about from 400 to 600 bushels, but did not sell it, but used it, it being so much money saved. At one time he had, when flour was not to be had for for love or money in Albany, let Mr. Hassell’s father have ten bags of it.
The Katanning mill surpassed everything that he had seen. He had seen mills in Adelaide and he must say the Katanning mill was a cut above any conception he had of it.” (Cheers).
“They did not want another roller mill but they did want their apples made into jam and preserved so that they could get some return from them. Though not an expert as a fruit grower he had grown some of the finest man had ever seen. At present when there were too many apples grown they were given to pigs while if they had a canning factory they could put them to profitable use. If the settlers persevered and did the right thing the colony would soon be exporting wheat, fruit and potatoes.” (Cheers.)
Mr. John Moir gave the toast of “The Settlers.” It included both the old and the new settlers. Great praise was due to the old settlers who came into these districts long before the railway was built to open up the land. Those old settlers had shown great pluck and energy, and if they had done nothing more, they had shown the value of the land in these new districts. (Cheers.)
They had not made the progress that might have been expected, but it was because they had not the means of transport from their farms to the market. That difficulty was overcome now and as it had been proved that agriculture was a possible understanding before the railway, he thought that with the railway, the settlers would work with fresh courage and fresh hopes instilled into them, especially when they had such a grand mill as that, and were supported by men like their worthy hosts. (Cheers.) They ought to see in the near future – instead of hundreds of miles of crude country, hundreds of miles of beautiful corn. (Cheers.) It was needless for him to dilate upon this matter because two representative and worthy settlers were to respond – Mr. Smith and Mr. Andrews. (Cheers.)
Mr. C. C. Smith responded. “The mill,” he said, “was a credit to the district and a credit to the Messrs. Piesse. There is no doubt that country would never have been opened up but for the line. There was a lot of good and, in the district, many thousands of acres. He, as an old settler was very thankful for the railway and the mill. The railway had been the means of his disposing of £300 worth of produce that would otherwise have been worthless. He came to the district 38 years ago, a boy, and if anyone had told him then that he should have seen the line and then the roller mill they might as well have told him that he would see the land there and the sea united. (Cheers.)
Mr. Andrews, another old settler, also responded, but his remarks were almost inaudible. He was understood to speak of the great value the mill would be to settlers, of the great opportunities it would give them and of the excellence of much of the land. He contented that the only drawback to the growing of wheat was the lack of labor. Give the farmers labor,” he said,” and they would grow plenty of wheat.” (Cheers).
Mr. Freeborn proposed “The Ladies,” and Mr. Climie responded.
The Hon. J. A. Wright then said, “There is a gentleman amongst us who must find this about tho proudest day of his life – the old and revered father of the Messrs. Piesse.” (Loud cheers). “He sees his eight sons as we saw them being photographed, all gathered together for the first time for seventeen years, and he sees them at the inauguration of a work that any West Australian could be proud of.” (Loud cheers). “He must, I feel certain, be the proudest man here amongst us today, not even excepting his sons, for in his sons he sees the carrying out of what he might have done himself, and of what he himself may be said to have been the initiator of. I ask you, gentlemen, to join me in drinking his health and may many long years of life be spared to him.” (Loud cheers).
Mr. W. R. Piesse, on rising to respond, was enthusiastically cheered. Speaking under great emotion he said, “This, I may say, has been to me the most happy day of my life. When I see today what the energy of my sons has done 1 feel very proud – so proud that I can hardly speak. I thank you for the kind way in which you have drunk the health of the Messrs. Piesse and my own health.” (Cheers).
The proceedings at the luncheon concluded with the singing of ‘God Save the Queen.’ After the last toast had been honored, 120 persons sat down at the tables, and already over fifty more had been fed outside the shed – making a total of 450 who partook of the hospitality of the Messrs. Piesse. Then 30 aboriginals, who had came in to the celebration, wore fed.
The purveyor for the occasion was Mr. Chipper, of the Katanning Hotel, and well did he do his work. The evening was spent by many of the visitors at a concert promoted by the committee of the local race club. Shortly after nine o’clock the ball was opened in the wheat shed. The scene at the ball was a very inspiring one. There were nearly 400 people present and the floor was well filled at every dance. The music was supplied by a pianist. Refreshments were supplied on the most liberal scale to dancers and onlookers and the wheat shed was a scene of gaiety far into the small hours of Friday.
The Albany visitors left Katanning at 2.25 a.m. by special train and, as they left, gave hearty cheers for the Messrs. Piesse. Tho visitors from the north left at 3.30 and thus a glorious day was brought to a close.
There was never a hitch during the whole of the proceedings and the visitors were, from beginning to end, in the highest good humor. The opening celebration of the Premier Roller Mill will always be remembered in the district as a great day – as a day on which a little though rising township emulated the doings of pretentious towns, and successfully.
The flour mill today
i) Mr. W. R. Piesse, arrived in the colony from London in 1842, and was therefore a pioneer of long standing.
Soon after his landing the latter gentleman engaged in pastoral pursuits, but in 1850 he entered the Government Service, and retired in July, 1893. This worthy pioneer died on the 23rd August, 1894
ii) Smutting Machine – A vertical machine used for removing smuts from grain by throwing them in such a way that diseased grains are broken open; these, being lighter are removed by an airstream together with the fungal dust.
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