The Wearne Family Print Page

The portable boiler commemorates the Wearne Family who established the first flour mill (1881) and the first sawmill (1883) in Bingara.

In 2015, the boiler was restored by the Bingara Lions Club and included the boiler stack which had been lying on the family property of "Mitiamo" on Narrabri Road.  The Lions Club painted and restored the boiler with the help of the Leo’s Club, Don and Jason Mack put the stack back together and painted it and Geoff (Tex) Morton and the Gwydir Shire Council helped with the installation of the stack onto the boiler.

The portable boiler was originally connected to a Small Steam Engine which was built by Marshalls of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire England and was purchased by James Teare Wearne in early 1880s to set up a small flour mill beside his residence on the southern corner of Cunningham and Riddell Streets (CWA Park).

This would be the first flour mill in Bingara, opened in 1883.

This mill was later enlarged and moved to the opposite northern corner of Cunningham and Riddell Streets and called the Victoria Saw and Planing Mill. Here John’s son, Edwin Charles James Wearne learnt the tricks of the trade and became proprietor of the mill. It was here that the Boiler was last used when the mill was closed in the late 1930s.

Location

Address:	East St (B95) & Copeton Dam Road, Cunningham Park, Bingara, 2404
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -29.864292 Long: 150.575339 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Technology
Monument Theme:	People
Sub-Theme:	Industry

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:	2006

Source: MA