The location of the cover photo is an old flour mill on Smith Creek at Craigmore/ lower One Tree Hill.

Adamson Flour Mill

The normally dry ‘Smith’s Creek’ began to flow in the winter of 1848. James Adamson decided to build a flour mill at the bottom end of his 116 acres in the area now known as Craigmore only 18 years after Adelaide was settled. The mill began grinding in 1854, the stream was sufficiently strong enough to turn a pair of stones. During the summer months before the creek would dry up, it could take up to a week for a dam Adamson had built, to accumulate water enough to run the mill for a mere 10 hours

Several court cases ensued because Adamson had built the dam, preventing water flow to the properties down stream however the jury found for the defendant in each case. The creek formed an important watering point for traveling stock on the Main North Road a few miles down stream.

It seems rather foolish in hindsight for Adamson to have gone for water power at that time. It was one of only two water powered mills in the state at the time, the rest being steam powered. The combination of Adelaide North’s poor rainfall and the poor location of the mill (in amongst some steep hills), given there were other mills opened up on the plains, contributed to the closing of the mill in 1870.

James Adamson died in Adelaide in 1864. The property remained in the Adamson family until 1909

The earliest known photos of the mill, which is still on private land, were taken in the early 1970’s show the basic structure of the complex including the water wheel lying nearby. Sadly today, 50 years after these photos were taken, there is not much left of the stone structure however the water wheel is still lying where it did 50 years ago.

Source: Playford’s Past, City of Playford website.