Windback Wednesday - Finnissbrook Mill Gear Wheel

Did you know that the first mill in South Australia was constructed in Burnside?

The gear wheel photographed, fashioned from red gum timber, is believed to be the only remaining piece of the Finnissbrook Watermill, which was constructed on First Creek in 1839. This wheel was part of the driving mechanism for two large mill stones.

Standing four stories high, with a 17 ft diameter water wheel, the Finnissbrook Watermill was built for John Cannan on First Creek, adjacent to the present-day St John Vianney Catholic Church at 544 Glynburn Road, Burnside. Initially a sawmill, it was converted to a flour mill in 1842 by Boyle Travers Finniss, who later went on to become South Australia’s first Premier.

The mill was not a commercial success due to its intermittent water supply, affected by the changing of the season. Despite the efforts of Edward Howitt, the mill’s last lessee, who installed supplementary steam power in 1855, it still failed to turn a profit. The mill was demolished by 1885.