Derelict windmill gets a makeover

RESTORED: Back to its former glory, the windmill is now functioning as it should, pulling water up from the bore below.

By Julia West

An unused windmill in Moir Street has been restored and brought back to life. 

Local landscaper Weston was working on a property in Moir Street when the owners, David Milne and Margo Edwards, suggested they make an artwork out of the fins of a derelict windmill in their garden. It looked pretty rough from the outside according to engineer John Davies, but on investigating the structure of the windmill, they found there was actually nothing wrong with it. 

“It was too good to waste,” said Weston. “The next thing was to check to see if there was any water in the bore. The bore water seemed fine and at that stage the owners decided to have the windmill restored.”

With the help of his sons, Boh and Billy, Weston set to work pulling the pipe-work out of the bore using a block and tackle to take the strain, and the boys doing the lifting. 

“It was a big effort as the pipe just kept coming and it turned out to be over 25 metres long. We discovered that the pump worked perfectly and we hardly needed to change the washers.

“The well itself is about twenty-five metres deep. It’s got a very simple pump towards the bottom of the well with a one-hundred-and-fifty millimetre shaft. The shaft moves up and down a distance of about four metres with a stop valve operating at the bottom of the pump. The stop valve opens up, pushes water through the pipes, and pulls water up from the bore.”

Local engineer John Davies was called in to investigate the mechanics of the mill. 

“We opened up the gear box and the main shaft was history. So I made a whole new shaft and re-bored the sail hub to fit. We even found a Model A Ford brake that would work on the hub,” said John. 

“It’s hard to say where the windmill was originally made – some parts were definitely made in the USA – but when we searched online, a lot of windmills were similar but none were exactly the same. There were probably thousands made for Australia and other places that didn’t have power.”

Together they gave the windmill a makeover, replacing rusty steel, adding new bolts, fins and blades while John Davies reconditioned the innards of the windmill and put it all together. Lastly the windmill was spruced up using good industrial paint. 

“It’s quite a nice-looking machine. There’s very little maintenance involved, and with a little bit of oil it should go forever,” according to Weston. 

The end result is a fully functional windmill which is also a beautiful kinetic artwork in its own right.