Gawler Underground - Union Mill

Union Mill

1 Julian Terrace, Gawler

  The Union Mill was established in 1855 by Harrison Brothers, opening on the site of their unsuccessful tannery. It was the second flour mill in Gawler. In 1863, it was purchased by Walter Duffield. In 1880, The Adelaide Milling Company bought the Union Mill. In 1933, Jeff Brothers leased the mill from the Adelaide Milling Company.

  In 1864, the middle floor of the mill gave way. The western wall fell, and many of the windows were blown out by the weight of mountains of wheat. The destruction poured into what is now Julian Terrace. In the 1870s, a train siding, coming from the tram line in Murray Street, was built into the Union Mill yard. The rail line had its own turntable to spin trucks around and take them back the way they had come after loading and unloading. The mill also had its own weigh station.
Fire destroyed much of the building in 1914. Rebuilt, but smaller. The mill ceased operations in 1968. In 1975, fire destroyed parts of the southern section of the building.

Centrelink and the CES were situated here in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was a medieval-themed restaurant that operated on the second floor in the 1990s. Where Asian Central is located today, there was an open-air dining area, which was enclosed in the early 1990s.

Today, the Salvation Army, Pole for Fitness, Asian Central and Action Psychology occupy the retail spaces of the former Union Mill.

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researched and written by Allen Tiller