Albany Woollen Mills

Albany Woollen Mills, also known as the Western Australian Worsted and Woollen Mills Ltd., was a woollen mill located in Albany, Western Australia.

The idea of having a mill in Albany was first proposed in 1920, an article in the Albany Advertiser suggested the town was a strong contender due to the good supply of fresh water and local climatic conditions. A local solicitor, S. G. Haynes, gifted 30 acres (12 ha) of land for the project. In 1921 the Minister of Industry, John Scaddan, announced that Albany had been chosen over sites in Perth, Bunbury and Collie.

The mill was the first woollen mill to be built in the state of Western Australia. Construction commenced in 1923 with a foundation stone laid by the premier, James Mitchell on 7 March. Later the same year a contract was awarded to L. Hinks and Company of Melbourne to build the Mill for £85,000. The cost did not include site levelling or the erection of the power house. Hinks decided to purchase land for the mill adjacent to the railway line at the foot of Mount Melville rejecting the gifted land that was too far from town. The main building had a frontage of 352 feet (107 m) and a width of 166 feet (51 m) with the interior divided into 11 bays. The 16 feet (5 m) high walls are made of reinforced concrete and roof was made of corrugated asbestos held aloft by 60 steel stanchions. Two 400 horsepower Babcock boilers were installed and connected to a 100 feet (30 m) smokestack.

It opened in 1925 as a way to increase employment and bring economic benefits to the Great Southern. The company opened in 1925 with £116,331 owed to shareholders. In 1926 rumours were rife that the mill was on the brink of closing prompting the Chairman of Directors, Ernest Augustus Lee Steere, to express his surprise in local newspapers at the idea.

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