Back to search results »

Back to search page »

TOBACCO KILN (FORMER)

Location Strathkellar Road STRATHKELLAR, Southern Grampians Shire File Number 808 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/1] 23544 Copy of 4449 Tobacco

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The former tobacco kiln, located off Strathkellar Road, at Strathkellar the only physical fabric which remains of an experiment in tobacco growing in the late 1920s. At the time, the property was owned by the Miller family. The structure is a converted garage constructed of red brick, the lower section with conventional pressed red bricks, the upper section with inferior older brick of a slightly different colour. The kiln is rectangular in plan and has a hipped roof with a louvered monitor rising from it. This is opened by means of a pivot lever. Both roofs are covered with corrugated iron. The timber double doors survive. There is a louvered opening above the doors in the former gable. Rain water tanks adjacent to the kiln are not associated with it. The interior of the kiln is untreated brick, with wooden shelves built into it for storage. Unlike the production of flax nearby and at Penshurst, this experiment was short-lived. The kiln survives with a good degree of integrity but is in poor condition.

How is it significant?
The former tobacco kiln is of historical significance to the Strathkellar community and the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it significant?
The former tobacco kiln is of historical significance as the only surviving evidence of an experiment to diversify crops in the Strathkellar area.