Timaru Milling Company Building

Opened in 1882 this mill was the first in New Zealand to be equipped with a roller milling plant. It was in continuous use for over 100 years. This was one of many mills in south Canterbury and north Otago which has been a prime grain growing region since the 1870s. For this reason some called Timaru the Chicago of New Zealand.
Te Ara tells us:"In the 1870s flour milling became an important industry in Timaru. This structure, built in 1882, was the first mill in the country to be equipped with rollers rather than grindstones. This explains its substantial height: grain was lifted to the top floor where it was fed into the roller mills. It then descended through a series of mills until it reached the lower floor. There, the ground flour was sifted, and finally bagged and shipped."