Latest chapter in flour mill arch saga unfolds
One resident has taken the future of the historic arch into their own hands
Fraser Coast
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AN anonymous member of the public has attempted to take the future of Maryborough's historic flour mill arch into their own hands.
Debate over the The Dominion Flour Mill Front Fence and Archway has been heated and halted the development of the site.
An application to add the arch to the Queensland State Heritage Register was received late last month.
The historic structure on Kent St has so far been spared from demolition.
The surrounding buildings had previously been delisted from the Fraser Coast Regional Council's Local Heritage Register in 2019.
They were subsequently destroyed.
When the decision was made Fraser Coast mayor George Seymour said it was a shame to demolish a piece of the city's history but said the building was "no longer safe".
"There is no prudent or feasible alternative to demolition," Cr Seymour said.
Submissions are to be made in writing to on the mailing details detailed in the attached or by email to heritage@des.qld.gov.au before September 25.
History of the mill
Built in 1890 for the Maryborough Milling Company, it was the most northerly flour mill in Australia for its time.
In 1905 it was bought by the The Dominion Milling Company.
The original entrance archway for the mill was erected in November 1915.
It consisted of an overhead archway with iron fretwork that was illuminated by a 400 candlepower electric lamp.
It is unclear if this archway is the basis for the one that exists today, however it appears unlikely as there is no evidence of where any iron fretwork was attached to the current structure.
In 1920 some of the leftover bricks from the Aldershot chimney stack were used to construct an ornate fence to form the Kent Street frontage of the flour mill site.
Designed by local architect POE Hawkes, and under his supervision, the fence was built on a brick base topped with lattice iron railings about 1.4 metres high.
The new archway was formed with two massive pillars and wooden gates with the name of the firm, "Dominion Milling Company".
The structure was topped with a semicircular dome of the arch featuring a round hole with three radiating spokes and the raised words "Silver Spray Flour" part circled around the upper part of the hole.
The original wooden entrances gates were later replaced by wrought iron ones with the two central ones featuring the lettering "Sea Foam" on their upper parts.
The iron lattice work on the fencing was replaced after 1990 with similar height timber pickets.
This gateway and its associated fence are the subject of the application.
The Department of Environment and science are calling for public feedback on the application.
For more stories regarding the history of the project and the debate surrounding the arch click here.