If you take a stroll along the Carters Road Old Chimney Walk Trail you will be sure to come across an enormous curved chimney. The chimney was part of Keenans No 1 Mill, the first pine sawmill in Margaret River. The Keenans No1 Mill was built in 1961 by Aub McEvoy who worked for the Forests Department.
The chimney was used to burn off saw dust and off cuts from the timbers. Prior to it being built, the mill burned off all it’s off cuts in a fire pit. You can just imagine how dangerous that would have been with the mill being surrounded with so many trees? A disaster waiting to happen.
The Chimney’s curved bricks were hand made especially for the mill. The chimney is re enforced with metal straps. There are only a handful of these round chimneys still standing in Western Australia. For the life of me I couldn’t name another.
In 1967 Keenans No2 Mill was built at the Wharncliffe Mill Forest. This larger mill marked the end for No 1 mill.