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John Darling Flour Mill

Other Name John Darling & Son Location 74 Sydney Street,, ALBION VIC 3020 - Property No B6124 File Number B6124 Level State

[1/1] B6124 Darling Flour Mill

Statement of Significance

This large and remarkably intact early twentieth century flour milling complex is of state significance as the last example of a mill of its period which retains original equipment. Constructed on a site which takes advantage of convenient rail and road links to the wheat belt of north west Victoria, the mill was reconstructed and refitted following a fire in 1925. A great deal of the milling and dressing equipment from this refit still survives in working order.
The five-storey building is constructed in brick in a "T" shape with the milling and dressing plant in the leg of the T on either side of a fire-proof longitudinal party wall with a louvred roof lantern terminating in the west facade by a curved pediment gable end. The east facade contributes a bold expression of the company's perceived image in terms of the massing and relationship between elements including the picturesque tower. An adjoining corrugated iron store is contemporary with the mill and along with the rail siding and canopied loading bay, completes the complex. Later additions such as the iron and concrete silos demonstrate the process of industrial development on the site.
The mill is opposite the Victorian Railways Albion electric substation and in proximity to a number of prominent early 20th Century industrial sites and is the most visible symbol of the large scale expansion of industry west of Melbourne in the 1920s.
Classified: 18/06/1990