Havelock Brownlee Mill at Blackball

Looking across  a portion of the Pelorus River towards the Blackball Timber Mill. Vessels can be seen at the wharf for loading the cut timber and directly at the back can be seen the mill. By the 1880s, 75 men were employed by the Sawmiller William Brownlee. He was a good employer and many men worked at his Blackball mill for the 30 years of its operation. They, with the other mills, were among the few sources of jobs in the area, and employed a whole range of loggers, millworkers, teamsters, tramlayers (known as ‘doodads') and seamen.