Historical information

"In 1839 John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88, which included 26 acres of land along the Yarra River for £481 at the Port Phillip land sales held in Sydney. Dight was already in the business of flour milling and had a mill near Campbell Town in New South Wales called ‘Ceres’. In April 1840, he notified his customers through The Sydney Herald that he was leaving to go to Port Phillip. The first steam powered flour mill was constructed in Melbourne in 1841. Dight built his water powered mill, soon after, from bricks bought over from Tasmania. Dight used the river to power his mill: Water flowed along an inlet channel to turn an undershot water wheel. In order to regulate flow or to ensure flow for times when river levels were low, Dight constructed a rough stone weir." (Melbourne Water)

Physical description

Dights Mill. Reproduction of a book plate from an original wood engraving, showing Dights Mill and Falls on the River Yarra. The image was originally published in Sands & Kenny, Melbourne & Sydney.

Inscriptions & markings

Annotation on reverse: "Dights Flour".