Other Mill Related Historical Bits

The Telephone

The telephone first came to Tarrawingee late 1899/early 1900. An newspaper article at the time mentions the construction of a line to the railway station.

 1899, December 2. Ovens and Murray Advertiser 

1899 TelephoneToTarrawingee

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/199719627?searchTerm=tarrawingee%20telephone

 This line was installed into the flour mill and became integral to the community. 

This excerpt, from THE STORY BEHIND TARRAWINGEE 1854-1954, by John Kay, published in 1954, describes the early use of the telephones in the area.

Unlike most districts, the telephone exchange has never been situated at the post office in Tarrawingee. The first telephone was installed at Mr. J. Smith’s Flour Mill, to enable him to have the convenience of getting information about rail trucks from the railway station. This was the only local phone, and was made available to residents as a public phone. Later, in 1926, when connections were made to other subscribers, the Smith residence was made the exchange, with Mrs. Smith in charge. It is expected, that possibly by the time this booklet is published, or soon after, a rural automatic exchange will be installed by the P.M.G. combining the Tarrawingee and Tarrawingee rail exchanges into one, and giving a 24-hour service. There have been changes in the operators of the Rail Exchange, but Mrs. Smith has carried out this onerous duty for 27 years. A fine record of service to the district.

Note the Smiths continued to operate the exchange out of their premises long after the destruction of the mill in 1918.

1869 Mayhem averted - a posse from Wangaratta

For several periods during the mills history it was leased out by the owners. Clearly sometime in in 1869 some sort of dispute between the owners and the tenant was in progress. as descriibed in this article from 1869, May 6,  Ovens and Murray Advertiser 

1869 PosseFromWang

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197567978?searchTerm=tarrawingee%20flour%20mill

1894 Shocking Death

The mill would have had a large number of, often transient, labourers working at any given time. It seems like some may have camped over the road for temporary accomodation on the Plough Inn paddock across the road, as inferred by this article about the unfortunate death of one of them:

 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/254491803

1894, June 8 The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express

1894 ShockingDeathSHOCKING DEATH.
August Saigmund, a laboring man, met his
death in a shocking manner at Tarrawingee.
Ihe deceased was engaged in chopping firewood
for a flour mill, and lived by himself in
a tent near his work. The tent was pitched
near a dry tree, which, it is believed, was
blown down during a storm after Saigmund
had retired, and the trunk fell across the tent
n the unfortunate man's neck as he lay
in his bunk. He was found quite dead pinned
down by the tree, his shoulder and upper por-
tion of the body being badly mutilated.

 

 

 

 

 Another article mentions that his tent was pitched in Mr. H. Nolans paddock, which was probably next to the Plough Inn, which was owned by the Nolans for many years, and is opposite the flour mill.

1894, June 8. The Yackandandah Times: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144949230?searchTerm=tarrawingee%20flour%20mill%20death

The Plough Inn

No story of the Tarrawingee Flour Mill would be complete with a mention of The Plough Inn. All through the old newspapers sourced for much of this site are mentions of meetings and gatherings at the Plough. At one time there were four hotels in Tarrawingee, but only the Plough has survived. It has a fine history all of its own, outside the scope of this site. Originally constructed in 1861, burnt down, and rebuilt in 1864. This building remains, and better still, remains a pub to this day. This fine establishment is roughly opposite where the flour mill used to be. A visit to The Plough is highly recommended if you are in the area, whether you are just after a cold beer or a hearty meal.

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