FORMER CHERRY STREET CHAFF MILL
2 WATTON STREET WERRIBEE, WYNDHAM CITY
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Statement of Significance
This place is included on the Victorian Heritage Inventory, for its potential to contain historical archaeological remains associated with the settlement and growth of early Melbourne. The Former Cherry Street Chaff Mill is of historical significance as an example of a late 19th to early-mid 20th century chaff mill.Under the terms of the Heritage Act 2017 there is protection for all historical archaeology sites and objects in the state.
Please visit the Heritage Victoria website to find out more about the Heritage Inventory.
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FORMER CHERRY STREET CHAFF MILL - History
Chaff Mill:
Local Werribee landowner and pioneer, William Ison senior, is attributed as the primary owner and operator of the Chaff Mill, established in the 1890s. Ison snr. was collecting and selling wheat from his properties from at least 1893 (The Bacchus Marsh Express, 1893). William Ison is known to have been a farmer and producer of hay and chaff to Melbourne (Vines 1987, p 43). A Mr. Ison is indicated as the owner of the chaff mill in January 1910, when a fire at the mill is documented to have occurred (The Bacchus Marsh Express, 1910). The Ison's appear to have sold the mill property to D.W. Thompson sometime between 1925 and 1930 (Vines 1987).
Thompson Brothers Chaff and Produce Ltd, commenced ownership and operations of the mill between 1925 and 1930, following David Thompson's purchase of the business (Vines 1987, p 43). D. Thompson had previously managed Keast's Mill (Cherry Street, on the northern side of the railway) until its unfortunate ruin by fire in the 1920s (Wyndham History, 2019). The Thompson Bros are listed as owners of the Cherry Street chaff mill until at least 1980 (Lotsearch 2018, p 29; Wyndham History, 2019).
Western Produce:
In the 1980s, the operation of the mill appears to have ceased with the business changing name to Max Hayes Western Produce. The building appears to have fallen into disrepair within several years and it was demolished c. 1982-1983 to make way for a new supermarket.
Woolworths Supermarket (formerly Safeway), Werribee Central:
The Woolworths Supermarket, within Werribee Central Plaza currently occupies the site of the former chaff mill and produce store, with a carpark and south-eastern portion of the building in the location of the former mill footings.
(For further information please see 'Historical Desktop Assessment: Former Chaff Mill, Werribee', by B. Hill and J. Dunn, 2019 (unpublished report prepared for Western Program Alliance by Andrew Long and Associates)).FORMER CHERRY STREET CHAFF MILL - Archaeological Significance
Documentary evidence suggests that William Ison senior was the primary owner and operator of the Chaff Mill, established in the 1890s. Between 1925 and 1930 the Thompson Brothers Chaff and Produce Ltd had commenced ownership and operations of the mill. In the 1980s, the operation of the mill appears to have ceased with the business changing name to Max Hayes Western Produce. The building appears to have fallen into disrepair within several years and it was demolished c. 1982-1983 to make way for the current Woolworths supermarket and carpark. The site has the potential to contain archaeological features, deposits and artefacts that could provide insights into the chaff mill industry and its operations at Werribee.
FORMER CHERRY STREET CHAFF MILL - Historical Significance
The Former Cherry Street Chaff Mill is of historical significance as an example of a late nineteenth to early-mid twentieth century chaff mill. The site is significant at a local level as it represents the commercial/industrial nature of places within the Werribee township. The site is of historical significance for its association with chaff cutting and milling practices of the time in the Werribee area, dating to the late nineteenth to early-mid twentieth century.
Heritage Inventory Description
FORMER CHERRY STREET CHAFF MILL - Heritage Inventory Description
The site is currently occupied by a Woolworths Supermarket and a carpark in conjunction with Werribee Central Plaza.
The site once occupied by the Cherry Street Chaff Mill relates to land on the south side of the rail reserve, and encompasses an area within the property parcel at 2 Watton Street, Werribee, located immediately west of the Cherry Street Level Crossing. A number of references (Vines 1987, 51), including information published by the Werribee District Historical Society (WDHS) (2015; WDHS 2019), situate the former chaff mill (owned by the Thompson Brothers) at the site of the current Woolworths supermarket and carpark at Werribee Central, located on the corner of Cherry and Watton streets, Werribee.
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CROSSROADS UNITING CHURCHVictorian Heritage Register H0628
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WERRIBEE RAILWAY STATIONVictorian Heritage Register H1309
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CALLANAN'S CHEMISTVictorian Heritage Register H1956
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