From Heritage New Zealand, Spring 2009

by Wendy Dunlop

Old-fashioned skills come into their own in the restoration of one of North Otago's early icons

Clark's Mill is the second-oldest flour mill in North Otago, and is cared for by the NZHPT.

Grant Sheehan

Originally part of the historic Totara Estate, Clark’s Mill is the second-oldest flour mill in North Otago, one of 13 that once operated in the area and the only survivor that was formerly water powered. Early machinery is still substantially intact in the four-storeyed building although it is now run by electricity. The mill owes its survival to a group of volunteers whose enthusiasm, expertise and dedication have ensured much of its restoration.

The mill was constructed of local stone in 1866 and was operated by the New Zealand Australia Land Company until the Clark brothers purchased it in 1901. The Clark family had migrated from the Orkney Islands and already  owned a successful threshing business in the district. Their ownership of the mill lasted until 1976 when it was purchased and then closed by Northern Roller Mills. The NZHPT bought it in 1977 and undertook exterior stonework to prevent further dereliction during the early 1980s. In 1981 it was registered as a Category I historic place.

Kakanui resident Harry Steenson “kept an eye” on the place for some years but a newspaper article which highlighted the need to preserve the mill as an Oamaru icon stirred wider interest. “People remembered having picnics by the mill, had worked in it or had used the flour from it,” says Kathleen Stringer, a visitor host at Totara Estate. Others recalled rugby and netball training within its night-lit grounds and the many social events held in the old miller’s cottage, renamed “Smoky Joe’s” in the 1940s during the days of prohibition.

The people of North Otago took the call to action to heart and the publicity around Clark’s Mill helped facilitate a reconnection with local history  that encompassed the restoration of Tyne Street in Oamaru and a thriving Heritage Festival held every November. A small group of volunteers got together, including an engineer who had serviced mill  machinery in Canterbury and Dave Clark, a direct descendant of the Clark family who has, says Harry, “tremendous wood and metalwork skills”. For the past four years a band of retirees (which also includes local enthusiasts Dave Ridout and Karl Ruddenklau) has gathered to restore the mill machinery which dates from the 1880s. Because much of it is wooden, the restoration requires a mix of old-fashioned carpentry and engineering skills.

Another volunteer, Roger Blackburn, has contributed to the project with the history and compilation of photographic displays. Thus, Clark’s Mill has become a vehicle for community involvement as well as the preservation of craftsmanship.

The mill’s roof, door and windowsills have all received a new coat of paint. John Chetwin, another  vollunteer, says that the mill machinery can now be run and, since new safety barriers were recently installed, the group  plans to hold open operating days during summer, offering visitors a glimpse of how an early flour mill worked. Funds for restoration have come from the NZHPT, Whitestone Civic Trust, Waitaki District Council and other community sources. Progress on Clark’s Mill has culminated in a TrustPower Heritage Award for the North Otago region.

Currently Clark’s Mill opens on Sunday afternoons from October to April and at other times by arrangement. It is hoped that eventually the mill will be a working exhibit and included in daily tours of Totara Estate.