The Albert Mill in Nairne

This former Nairne flour mill is now a restaurant, antique shop & B&B. I spotted an article about it several weeks ago and thought what a great blip it would make. Today being Easter Sunday we decided to drive up to Nairne to photograph this mill along with the many other old buildings in Nairne.

Today the old Albert Mill owners use the first floor to display an assortment of antiques in what was once a storage area for wheat and barley from around the district.

In fact the whole building is crammed full of memories of yesteryear. The Albert Mill itself is a stunning piece of 19th century pioneer architecture, built by Thomas Stoddart and Frederick Hughes back in 1857.

They ran it for several years without any real success until the great South Australian miller, John Dunn, an Englishman, purchased the building in 1864. He soon turned things around, and in fact, the flour from the Albert Mill was considered some of the best in the world, made from wheat grown in the local Adelaide Hills.

This area around Nairne was the wheat basket of South Australia back in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The wonderful old structure has seen good and bad times. By the 1970's, it was a neglected shell of its former self, awaiting the demolition ball.

But thanks to the hard work of recent owners, what was once a derelict mill and an abandoned storage area now serves as a fine Adelaide Hills restaurant. Guests are surrounded by locally cut Wistow stone and hand hewn beams made from local redgums.

See Albert clearer.