Egmont Steam Flour Mill (1865-67)

This three-storey timber building was built between 1865 and 1867 for the firm Webster and Hulke and was originally clad in vertical board and batten characteristic of New Plymouth buildings of this period.

It is the only surviving flour mill and also the oldest industrial building in New Plymouth. The New Plymouth District Council's 1995 C.B.D. Heritage Inventory suggests that timber buildings of this scale and age are rare anywhere in New Zealand.

The architect was George Robinson, built to designs supplied by Messrs. Bull and Bond, England.

By 1885, the firm - now owned by Webster and McKellar - was bankrupt, and the mill was sold to Zacchaeus William Wells for £2,050. It continued to operate as a mill up until at least 1896. From 1905-28 ownership was in the hands of the produce merchants, Collet and Co. In 1907 substantial alterations were completed and the Taranaki Daily News described it at the time as, "the strongest building in Taranaki if not the colony". 

From 1928 to 1965 the building was adapted for use as the New Plymouth shop of Farmers Co-op. After this the building began to deteriorate, although part of it was used by the local branch of the National Party which owned the property.

In October 1969 a folk and blues club, "The Blue Room", opened in part of the building. It is not known how long it lasted. 

In 1986-87 the building underwent major conservation work, reopening as a bar/restaurant known as "The Egmont Steam Flour Mill".

After the failure of a business in early 2010 the building lay empty for several years. A nightclub known as the "Crave Club" occupied part of the building for a few years in the 2010s.

The NZ Historic Places Trust magazine (September 1987) has an article about the Egmont Steam Flour Mill. 

Related documents:

Early history (Compilation of newspaper extracts)

The Last of the Colonials - No. 19, Michael Smither Sketch (Taranaki Herald 29 April 1961)

$2m mill facelift for old mill (Daily News 12 November 1984)

Objections stall old mill project (Taranaki Herald 21 March 1985)

The sixties and all that, John Daniels (Sunday Express 12 April 1987)

Historic Mill under scrutiny (Daily News 23 May 1989)

Local bar ready to rock (Taranaki Daily News 26 November 2008)

Fresh twist to landmark's rich history (Taranaki Daily News 3 June 2009)

Police oppose strip club's new home (Taranaki Daily News 30 December 2011)

Crave strip club gets restart in Mill (Taranaki Daily News 6 June 2013)

Of passing interest - Egmont Steam Flour Mill, Kelvin Day (Taranaki Daily News 17 June 2013)