HERITAGE NOOSA
HERITAGE NOOSA
Kin Kin Sawmill
DETAILS
Description
The Kin Kin Sawmill, established in 1948 by Arthur Hempsall and his son Lionel, is located midway between Gympie and Noosa in the Sunshine Coast township of the same name. The Hempsall family owned the mill until 1991 when it was sold to Geoff Ellis. It continues to operate as a small mill with much of its original machinery and layout still intact. By the mid-1950s, southern Queensland produced the largest amount of timber in the state and, in the North Coast region, there were some 122 sawmills in 1949, the largest number in the state.
The Kin Kin Sawmill was originally established to produce wooden packing cases for the local fruit growing industry. The North Coast was an important fruit growing region and during the first half of the 20th century, Kin Kin was one of the State's most productive banana growing areas. The sawmill produced cases for bananas, pineapples, beans, apples and plums. Cases were transported by rail from Pomona to destinations as far afield as Brisbane and the fruit growing areas near Stanthorpe. Case milling was an important industry associated with fruit growing. It was valued because it provided a useful outlet for timber which would otherwise have no economic value. There was a high demand for fruit and vegetable cases in the immediate post-war period, with case milling peaking in 1949. By the early 1950s, corrugated fibre board containers, developed during World War Il, began to compete with the traditional wooden cases and the latter experienced a steady decline in use.
Although not dissimilar in layout to other types of sawmills, case mills were typically smaller in scale owing to the smaller size of the logs that were milled and the smaller size of the end product. A three-person mill, comprising a single circular saw bench (number one bench) and a docking saw, could produce up to 500 cases per day. Logs were broken down at the number one bench into longitudinal lengths of timber (flitches). The flitches were cut to required length at the docking saw. Waste material from the initial breaking down process (including edging) was cut down for firewood at the docking saw or disposed of. The lengths of timber ready for assembly as cases were known as 'shooks'.
When initially erected, the Kin Kin mill was comprised of only the number one saw bench and a docking saw. Both of these saws are still extant, but the docking saw has been relocated within the shed. The saws were powered by a tractor. Probably from the early 1950s after the mill was connected to electricity, a Canadian Saw, and number two bench were added, and the docking saw was moved. Since then, the mill layout has remained largely unchanged. In its present form it resembles a typical sawmill layout of the 1950s. The original hand operated winch for moving logs through the breakdown saw remains extant as does the early electrical insulators tracing the original path of the cabling along the underside of the roof.
The mill originally cut soft wood timber for cases. This was cut to the required lengths and then packaged for delivery to the farmers who assembled the cases. The mill subsequently moved into cutting timber for pallets, and hardwood milling for electricity pole cross-arms and railway sleepers. In 2007, the mill was cutting softwood for assembly into packing cases for glass. It is one of the few sawmills of its era that is still operating on the North Coast.Address 1, Sister Tree Creek Road, Kin Kin
The Kin Kin Sawmill, established in 1948 by Arthur Hempsall and his son Lionel, is located midway between Gympie and Noosa in the Sunshine Coast township of the same name. The Hempsall family owned the mill until 1991 when it was sold to Geoff Ellis. It continues to operate as a small mill with much of its original machinery and layout still intact. By the mid-1950s, southern Queensland produced the largest amount of timber in the state and, in the North Coast region, there were some 122 sawmills in 1949, the largest number in the state.
The Kin Kin Sawmill was originally established to produce wooden packing cases for the local fruit growing industry. The North Coast was an important fruit growing region and during the first half of the 20th century, Kin Kin was one of the State's most productive banana growing areas. The sawmill produced cases for bananas, pineapples, beans, apples and plums. Cases were transported by rail from Pomona to destinations as far afield as Brisbane and the fruit growing areas near Stanthorpe. Case milling was an important industry associated with fruit growing. It was valued because it provided a useful outlet for timber which would otherwise have no economic value. There was a high demand for fruit and vegetable cases in the immediate post-war period, with case milling peaking in 1949. By the early 1950s, corrugated fibre board containers, developed during World War Il, began to compete with the traditional wooden cases and the latter experienced a steady decline in use.
Although not dissimilar in layout to other types of sawmills, case mills were typically smaller in scale owing to the smaller size of the logs that were milled and the smaller size of the end product. A three-person mill, comprising a single circular saw bench (number one bench) and a docking saw, could produce up to 500 cases per day. Logs were broken down at the number one bench into longitudinal lengths of timber (flitches). The flitches were cut to required length at the docking saw. Waste material from the initial breaking down process (including edging) was cut down for firewood at the docking saw or disposed of. The lengths of timber ready for assembly as cases were known as 'shooks'.
When initially erected, the Kin Kin mill was comprised of only the number one saw bench and a docking saw. Both of these saws are still extant, but the docking saw has been relocated within the shed. The saws were powered by a tractor. Probably from the early 1950s after the mill was connected to electricity, a Canadian Saw, and number two bench were added, and the docking saw was moved. Since then, the mill layout has remained largely unchanged. In its present form it resembles a typical sawmill layout of the 1950s. The original hand operated winch for moving logs through the breakdown saw remains extant as does the early electrical insulators tracing the original path of the cabling along the underside of the roof.
The mill originally cut soft wood timber for cases. This was cut to the required lengths and then packaged for delivery to the farmers who assembled the cases. The mill subsequently moved into cutting timber for pallets, and hardwood milling for electricity pole cross-arms and railway sleepers. In 2007, the mill was cutting softwood for assembly into packing cases for glass. It is one of the few sawmills of its era that is still operating on the North Coast.Address 1, Sister Tree Creek Road, Kin Kin
Kin Kin Sawmill. Heritage Noosa, accessed 14/06/2025, https://heritage.noosa.qld.gov.au/nodes/view/24461
