Spend some time in one Of wa’s most uniqUe heritage LOCATIons...
We've got a full history of the Donnelly in the pipe-line that we'll pop on the site as soon as it's dusted.
In the meantime, from the Heritage Council of Western Australia's Register of Heritage Places report (and some other sources), some insights into Donnelly's history for your interest.
Donnelly River Mill is situated at the junction of the south and north forks of the Donnelly River, to the south west of Bridgetown and north of Manjimup, in the south west region of Western Australia.
Named for the river which flows through it, which in turn was named by Western Australia's first Governor, James Stirling, after Admiral Ross Donnelly, a friend of his wife's family and Rear Admiral of the Red.
The mill and town are situated in a picturesque location adjacent to the Donnelly River and exhibit the care and attention taken in the original planning to achieve an aesthetically pleasing result in harmony with the bush location.
The site was first used as a timber mill by the Wheatley family who started The Donnelly Karri and Jarrah Company after purchasing a small fruit-case cutting mill in 1909 for £1,000.
The Wheatleys enlarged the mill to cut Karri as well as Jarrah, purchasing a 9 foot whim from Millar's Timber & Trading Co. Timber was carted in a large bullock wagon (10 bullocks) to Yornup siding, 8 miles away. They supplied tens of thousands of telegraph poles to the Government, as well as supplying quantities of Jarrah for the mines before they sold the mill in 1912.
The next chapter in the history of Donnelly was driven by Bunnings, a house-hold name in Western Australia which started its life as Bunning Brothers, a company formed by brothers Robert and Arthur Bunning in 1886 that developed into one of Australia's largest timber companies. Charles Bunning, son of Robert Bunning, was a key figure in the timber industry for over 50 years and was instrumental in the Donnelly River Mill being developed.
In 1923, Bunning Brothers purchased Lewis and Reid, a timber company with mills at Collie and Yornup, near Bridgetown. Their original intention was to close Yornup and build a new mill on the site of Wheatley's mill. However, the demand for timber in the 1940s meant that a decision was made to keep Yornup open, as it had been renovated and was operating under a new sawmilling permit since 1935.
Early in 1947, new plans were being drawn up by Bunning Brothers to build a mill at the site of Wheatley's mill. Bunnings changed the name of the site to Donnelly River. In March 1948, Bunning Brothers Ltd became Bunning Brothers Pty Ltd; many companies were incorporated within this company, Donnelly Sawmills Pty Ltd being one of them.
The timber industry experienced a period of expansion in the late 1940s and 1950s. After the war, there were more men available to work, including displaced migrants from Europe, a building boom was in evidence and developments in technology resulted in increased production.
Donnelly River Mill was one of several mills established in the late 1940s by Bunning Brothers to work the karri forest timber in new permit areas held by the company. Mills were also constructed at nearby Nyamup and Tone River.
Once a decision had been made to build on the land there was some debate about where to locate the site of the Donnelly River Mill. The south side of the river was chosen eventually, to protect the town from the smoke from the mill stacks that would otherwise be blown over the town by prevailing winds.
The Donnelly River Mill was situated next to a river because water was needed for the boilers, the mill's source of energy. Steam-powered mills exhibited the technology of the time and Donnelly River Mill had two steam locomotives. It was a karri mill and was belt-run, powered by a single cylinder horizontal steam engine built by Robey's of Lincoln, England. The engine was bought from Onkaparinga Woollen Mills in South Australia by Bunning Brothers in 1947.
Pegging out the site of the Donnelly River Mill began on Anzac Day 1948. The mill cost nearly £100,000 to build, and this figure did not include the 12 miles of railway that ran between Donnelly River and Yornup Mill.
Rail served an important ongoing role in the life of the mill for the following 30 years of operations, with the 19km long Yornup-Donnelly Mill railway being the last private timber railway to operate in WA.
Two twin steam-driven locomotives worked this railway over its life, ex South Australian Railways locomatives Y86 and Y176. One of the Donnelly locos is now on display at the Bunnings store in Balcatta, the other is at the Rail Heritage Museum in Bassendean.
The Donnelly River Mill was not just a mill, but a town. Situated some twenty-seven kilometres from Manjimup, the area of the Donnelly River Mill was isolated from nearby towns by rough roads. Aside from the mill there were cottages for workers with families, and single men's quarters. The general store, butcher's shop, social club and school were all built after the Donnelly River Mill opened.
The workers' housing was built on the hill overlooking the mill. There were twenty cottages situated in a crescent formation, following the road. There were thirty-three single men's quarters, arranged in three rows of ten, with the remaining three dwellings out of alignment with the others.
The mill 'opened' on the 13 September 1950, although it was not until several weeks after this that full production commenced. John Tillman suggests the early opening occurred because Charles Bunning had promised his financial backers that the mill would be operational by this date.
The Donnelly River Mill was officially opened on 24 April 1951. The opening ceremony commemorative leaflet thanks all the staff and employees for their hard work on the mill. The directors thanked the staff, "for the part [they] have personally played in these [the mill's] operation." The ceremony was well publicised and was attended by over three hundred people.
The mill was opened by the acting Premier, A.F. Watts, whose ceremonial duties also included operating the machinery to saw a log. The social club was opened by Mr Justice Jackson, president of the Arbitration Court. Other activities included an overnight train from Perth to Yornup siding to enable people to attend the opening of the mill, and a picnic lunch near the mill site.
A shop was built in 1952. It had a storeroom at the rear and a post office at the front. The store provided most general items, so that shopping in nearby towns was not a necessity.
The primary school was built in 1953. It provided education for the children of workers at the mill. It was situated in the middle of the settlement and a large karri tree had been felled for use as a part of the playground equipment. The first teachers were a married couple named Phillips. There were forty pupils. The Donnelly school was short of resources and, at first, children had to sit on the floor and use their chairs as desks. A very active parents' association worked to provide the school with essential items, while Charles Bunning was a benefactor who contributed to the purchase of school aids.
The original plans for the townsite at Donnelly River Mill included a church, but this was never built. Church services were held in the open by a priest from Bridgetown who used a karri stump as a pulpit.
Soon after the Donnelly River Mill had been established, an influx of migrants arrived in the timber areas of the State seeking employment. The mill employed a number of migrants, but the newcomers created a housing shortage. Temporary accommodation was set up on the west side of the mill by Harry Martin and the area became known as Martin's Corner.
Initially, only men worked the mill. Bunnings' policy changed some time after the Donnelly River Mill was established, with Charles Bunning supporting the inclusion of women in the mill work force, adding that they needed an interest close to home. It is not known how many women started working as a result of this initiative. Women's tasks involved, "working on the sorting tables, pulling the wood off the sorting tables, also with the planing machines, tailing out behind the flooring machines and the moulding tables."
Conditions at Donnelly River Mill were basic. There were shared water taps situated throughout the single men's quarters; in the cottage accommodation, there was a wash house shared between every two houses. There were no showers or baths in the early years and septic toilets were not installed until 1968, replacing the old pan toilets.
In August 1958, to mark the State's Festival of Trees Week, Bunnings donated a karri tree "as a tribute to the State's forest wealth." This tree was provided from Donnelly River Mill stock and four trees were felled before a 'perfect' specimen was finally chosen. The tree was then transported in three sections to Perth and placed in Kings Park, proclaimed as 'The Elizabeth Karri Tree', where it remained on display until 2001.
The Donnelly River Mill closed in June 1978 in accordance with the policy of the Forests Department to close less efficient mills. Since it had operated for only 29 years, the mill itself remained principally as originally constructed.
Charles Bunning made the closing speech, reflecting on community feeling at Donnelly River Mill. He said, "people who came here always went away feeling happy that they had seen something unique not only in sawmilling operation but in the surroundings, the set out of the housing, the way people looked after their gardens, and generally all that went to make Donnelly River Mill a happy one."
The community feeling at Donnelly River Mill was clearly very strong. The original concept of creating a town - not merely a place of work - had succeeded, not only because of the isolation and relative self-sufficiency of the community but also through the pride of the workers in their mill.
When Donnelly River Mill closed, Bunnings donated the land and the mill to the Crown, "for so long as they remained for public benefit." The usual practice when timber mills closed down was to reassemble the equipment at new sites. However, when Donnelly River Mill closed, the mill equipment was out of date, with the transition from steam to power from the State electrical grid; accordingly, most of the equipment remained in situ following the mill's closure.
The Donnelly River Mill is an excellent example not only of how a timber mill operated, but also of the social environment of workers in the mill and their families. Besides the mill, the workers' housing, social club, store and school remain.
In the early 1980's Donnelly commenced its new life as a holiday destination, and has operated in this capacity for over thirty years.
The mill and town was heritage listed in 2006.
The Department of Conservation and Land Management 'Donnelly History' panels fixed on what was once the Donnelly Primary School provide some more colourful insights into the history of the town:
When Donnelly Mill was officially opened on the 24th of April 1951 it was the establishment of a dream which seems to have been unusually blessed with success.
It was nothing but the best for the Donnelly. For a start the site is one of the most beautiful in the South West. Surrounded by some of the finest karri timber to be found.
The will was to be a model of new technology, distilling all the knowledge its planners had gained from American developments and experiences with transport in the war. Twelve models were made on site before the final plan was decided on.
This contrasts with the elegant simplicity of the methods Henry Martin used to actually build the mill - with no crane available he used a pulley block to erect the chief stack which stands straight as a die to this day.
Whether it was mill manager Roy Britten or mill foreman Jack Timms who put the first log through the mill matters little. Staffed by locals and a huge influx of displaced persons who came to Australia after the war, the mill went on to cut 50 loads per day, of 50 cubic feet per load for the next 27 years.
Other aspects of life in the Donnelly were also top class. The first teachers, Laurie and Betty Phillips were of a very high caliber. Laurie later became regional director in the metropolitan area.
Another teacher to leave his mark on Donnelly school was Des O'Neil, who went on to a political career, becoming Deputy Premier of Western Australia. The town was the first one to have its own club, the mill the first one to employ women - as sorters.
Its work was hard, its entertainment clean, its pace unhurried. Life was sweet. In May 1978 Cyclone Alby swept through bending and snapping karri trees like twigs. Time had already flowed past Donnelly and on into a faster, more technical future. Yet it seems fitting such a force of nature should mark the end of its life as a mill town - one which always did things on a grand scale.
Life at the Donnelly - 'The Rhythm of Life'
What can you hear? Birdsong? The shouts and laughter of children? An occasional car arriving or leaving? The first two have always been a part of Donnelly's harmony. In its heyday though, a full orchestra of sound produced the rhythm of life in this small mill town. Thumps, whumps, hisses, screams, whines and clacks.
You could set your watch by the mill whistle which went at ten to eight. Streams of men would emerge from their huts, lunch bill in hand, ready to be at their mill stations by eight sharp.
The scream of the big saws stopped at 10.00 am for a seven minute tea-break, during which time the benchman had to change his saw! The whump of the steam engine and the clacking of the train taking milled timber to Yornup siding 14 miles (20 km) away echoed through the forest.
With the mean at work and some of the children at school, the women continued their daily rounds of work. Those waiting in temporary huts, hoping desperately to be assigned permanent married quarters, might spend time on the endless task of stuffing chinks and cracks with crumpled newspaper. These rougher huts were built with face cuts. When they dried and shrank you could literally see through the cracks like looking through a picket fence!
These women from Europe could often be seen collecting sorrel grass which they boiled up as a vegetable. Most people had thriving vegie gardens; many also prided themselves on their fine lawns and flower gardens.
At 5pm the whistle blew and the men returned home. Some evenings there might be a function at the town club, built in 1951, or a Parents and Citizens film night. Those with energy to spare might have a game of night tennis, basketball or just socialize at the bar.
Donnelly was a self-contained, proud community that looked after its own. There were no police, no traffic, no pressure. A paradise for children. The mill work was tough but fair. No one who came looking for a job was turned away - even a one armed man was employed as a 'swamper' (tractor driver's assistant). If you were sick or in trouble you could always get an advance on your pay.
When the mill whistle blew for the last time in June 1978, relative silence descended on the Donnelly. Now it has a new life as a holiday village.
Old Railway carriage - 'Cat on a Cold Tin Roof'
Imagine your name is Maria. You are thousands of miles from your homeland. If some scientifically minded person told you that the climate here was Mediterranean you would think it a sick joke. Look to the future, you remind yourself, as you try and make a home for your husband and children in this tiny carriage which used to be a bush winch. Still, as the cold rain pours down and the fretful baby finally goes to sleep, you can't help thinking back to the balmy summers of your childhood. Before the war changed everything.
Night after night your husband goes out walking. You can't blame him - there's not really room here for the children, let alone two adults as well. But it's so lonely.
What was that? That noise? Somebody is trying to break in. Everything conspires to push aside the thin scraps of security you have cobbled together. So you freeze suspended in fear for two hours until you husband returns and breaks the spell.
Later you will hear other cats and possums on the tin roofs of other, better houses. Later still you will laugh about it. And as you watch your children growing up free and strong the term 'new' fades away and you become simply Australian. You have made your home.
Steam in the Valley - 'Wood and Water'
The Donnelly River was the life blood of this town. The source of all things - drinking water, pleasure, work.
The town dam was originally constructed to fill the boilers which drove the mill, but somehow ended up as the local swimming hole. Children would stream down past Jack Surina's place, 'Jack's Shack', for a swim after school. The lucky ones might be given sixpence for sweets by Jack, who had a soft spot for the kids.
There was never a shortage of water at the Donnelly. It rained for eight months a year averaging 58 inches (1475 mm). Both the mill and the school kept a rain gauge, but one year there was a considerable discrepancy. 'How could this be?' thought the school teacher. 'It can't possibly rain more up our end of our town.' That was until he discovered that a couple of naught schoolboys had been adding to the school gauge by using it for their daily toilet!
Whatever the records, there was no doubt it rained a lot. A miserable experience for the gangs who went bush in uncovered trucks, and were thoroughly soaked before they started work.
More rains came as steam from the mill condensed and fell to earth. On a still day the engine would blow perfect rings of steam exhaust. That 'Robey' was the Rolls Royce of steam engines. Whomp, whomp, whomp it went for twenty-nine years driving saws, winches and other machines without stopping once. The heartbeat of the town.
As well as driving the mill, steam was used to cure timber, turning it from green to dry in 36 hours. Steam, too, powered the locomotives which hauled the timber up until '69.
Steam has all puffed out at the Donnelly, but the river of life flows on. Holiday makers mix with locals who have come back to have a barbeque and swim in the old town dam.
Kings Park Karri - 'You've seen the log, now...'
In 1580 a small seedling took root. Long before Europeans were thought of here it grew towards the light and its date with destiny.
This tree was the Kings Park log, the largest and one of the most perfect specimens ever seen. It was felled by famous local Snowy Henderson, who also saw it arrive in Perth - in three sections. No one truck was large enough to hold it. It was too much for one city bloke's imagination who is reported (in the Timber People) to have said 'Go on, that's not one log' to which Snowy replied 'I ought to know, I cut it down.' The city bloke must have felt very sure of his ground when he said to the large bushman 'Some people are awful liars'.
From the Kings Park website:
The Karri Log was an iconic and a memorable part of Kings Park. It is remembered by generations of visitors locally and from afar. It was installed 25 June 1958 and was located on Fraser Avenue near the Garden Restaurant (now the Fraser's Restaurant complex).
The Karri log was transported in three sections from Donnelly River in Western Australia's south-west to Kings Park. Estimated to be 363 years old when felled, the log was 32 metres in length and weighed 110 tons.
Various attempts were made to preserve the log over the years with little success. Internal rot was causing the log to subside in places, causing safety concerns. It was removed on 8 October 2001.
The log was not replaced. However, the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority planted more than 300 karri trees in the Botanic Garden for future generations.
The Log Landing - 'When Death Came to Town'
Death is no stranger in a small country town. Those who lead their lives close to nature know its limits very well. The community remembers the four forest workers who lost their lives in the Willow Springs fire in January 1958.
Ivan (Jack) Surina, who still lives at the Donnelly was a hand feller up until the age of 55 when he lost his mate in an accident. Jack never had the heart to return to the bush, but he worked the the town well into his seventies.
Safety at the mill itself was very good even before the introduction of safety awards in the early 1960'. The men tended to look out for each other's welfare. Minor injuries were treated in the local office (now the General Store) and worse cases were taken to Bridgetown hospital.
There was nothing could be done for Lawrence O'Driscoll. An itinerant Irish worker, Lawrence was given a day's work as hookman on the log landing when the usual man was off. Hookman is a very dangerous job requiring a good deal of experience and a sixth sense about danger. Poor Lawrence didn't have the luck of the Irish, and he was killed by a rolling karri log.
Blackmith's Shop - 'The Shop of the Old'.
Donnelly really was a curious mix of the old and new. Between the past and the future, it balanced for a moment of timeless harmony. A horse and dray carted sawdust away from the mill until 1955. The horse was re-shoed every three weeks or so in the local blacksmith's shop which also made every piece of metalwork necessary for the town.
Outside one of the 'twin' locomotives used at Donnelly puffed past. The driver would pull a lever and sand hissed down on the line to create friction to help them pull up the steep inclines. From this part of town you could be forgiven for thinking that the shop of the old would never be ousted by the shock of the new.
