Cooroy Lower Mill Site Kiln

A new arts precinct sits within a former industrial site on Lower Mill Road in Cooroy. The site includes the remnant sawmill kiln which timber merchants Wilkinsons and Sons and Strakers and Sons operated on this site. It had been a sawmill site for many years. The companies merged in 1956 to form Kiln Dried Timbers Pty Ltd enabling both partners to accelerate the process of seasoning hardwood and to expand their market into western Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne. The kiln, designed by the CSIRO, claimed to be the first built on the north coast. It comprised four double concrete chambers, each with a capacity of 1200 cubic metres. The sawdust fuelled boiler heated the kiln to temperatures around 49 degrees and also powered a steam engine and electric generator. The company was renamed North Coast Sawmills Pty Ltd in the 1970s after the inclusion of other local companies. The business was sold in the 1980s and then closed down in the early 2000s. The Shire Council redeveloped the site with Q150 celebratory funding. The Mill Place Precinct includes the new Cooroy Library, gardens and public art space, while a local timber workers group uses the sawmill premises.