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James Broadhead
1860 Kiandra

Descendants Report

Sawmiller and Flour-miller

JAMES BROADHEAD, now 84 years of age, is one of the pioneer timber millers of Manaro. attracted by the discovery of gold at Kiandra in 1860, he came to Cooma from Majors Creek, traversed on foot the old Diggers' Track to the goldfield, and started prospecting at the Nine Mile, He then joined in the rush to Cracken-back. This proving unsuccessful, he came back to the Nine Mile, which he left for Lambing Flat, where he was when the riot broke out. Shortly after that he returned to Kiandra, and some couple of years later started a timber business. His first establishment was at Kalkite, where for some years the timber sent out was sawn by hand. Later, at the same place, he set up a mill, there being then only one other mill in the district-that run by Schlick, at Nimmo. Mr. Broadhead cut timber for many of the public buildings in Cooma, amongst others the Church of England, the Pressbytery the Roman Catholic Church, the Gaol, and the Hospital. Leaving Kalkite he established a flour mill at Middlingbank. This he ran with a 10-h.p. steam engine, charging I/- per bushel for gristing. At this time there was a water power mill at Jindabyne and a steam power one at Cooma. Later, Mr. Broadhead removed his machinery from Middlingbank, and re-erected It at Coolringdon, where it it has been lying out of use for many years. Mr. Broadhead erected at Providence, about 1885, a timber mill which was worked by water power, fed from a dam some distance away, by means of a race. The output from this mill was about 90,000 feet of mountain ash per annum. It was at this mill that Mr. Broadhead, who is connected with the well-known English family of Peel, was in 1892 greeted as a connection by the Earl of Jersey, then Governor of the State.

"BACK TO COOMA" Felix Mitchell 1926 Page 74 - Transcribed by Pattrick Mould 2002