Mill Point walk

kangaroo Mill 1 Dune Cypress (Callistris Columellaris)
This tree's timber is pale yellow to brown and is well known for its durability in the ground as well as its "white-ant" resisting properties. Its strong straight timber was used as spears by the Aborigines, while its resin was used to join the hardwood spearhead to its shaft. The early settlers used its resin in ointments and plasters as well as for coating of pills when it was dissolved in alcohol. Its twigs were fed to horses to rid them of worms and the tannin in the bark was used for leather dying. Its wood is also used ornamentally as the firm knots possess a beautiful pattern for flooring.

Mill 2 Cabbage Tree Palm (Livistonia Australis): This tree with large, fan-shaped leaves grows to a height of 20 meters. It is a spring bloomer, bearing sprays of attractive flowers. The Aborigines used its tough fibrous fan-shaped leaves for making bags, baskets, fishing nets and fishing lines. The early settlers ate the fresh growing point of the plant which was similar to a cabbage type of vegetable. Its unexpanded fronds were used to make hats by immersing them in boiling water and cutting and plaiting them into shape.

Mill 3 Swamp She-Oak (Casuarina Glauca): This tree is usually found in low lying, often brackish land near the coast. The tree is often used to stabilise sandy areas such as the Noosa River Mouth. Its flowers are small brown spikes which occur at the end of its twigs during September and October.

Mill 4 Rail Mound: This mound is the remnant of a tramway system pulled by horses which in 1870 brought timber down from the Kin Kin scrub and Cootharaba district to the sawmill at Mill Point. Some of the timber which was felled in the early days included Beech, Red Cedar and Hoop Pine.

Mill 5 Settlement and Mill Site: A settlement was established near the sawmill as a result of the influx of people to the area. Gold had been discovered in Gympie and much timber was needed for mining and building purposes. At its height the Mill Point township in 1875 had over 250 people living there and the town boasted a good store, blacksmith, butcher's shop, school, post office and hotel.
In 1872 Governor Normanby visited the Mill Point township and sawmill by paddlesteamer from Noosa and described the machinery as "covered by a shed 120 feet long by 33 feet wide, containing circular saws and travelling benches of the latest make and largest capacity, weighing well over 20 tons. The machinery was driven by a 25 horse power engine supplied by two boilers - 20 feet long and 13 feet 6 inches in diameter". One of the worst tragedies of the area occured on a chilly winter's morning on 29th July, 1873, when some workers were warming themselves around the boiler. The men noticed the boiler plates beginning to bulge but were unable to get clear before the boiler exploded, killing five men. The five bodies were taken by horse drawn tram to the old cemetery two kilometers north of Mill Point where their bodies still lay today.
After the 1893 flood and the establishment of other mills in the area, the sawmill lost its usefulness and both it and the settlement disappeared.

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