The Old Chaff Mill Retreat

Open every day, 24:00

Then, disaster. With summer came a run of 40 degree days. Birds descended on the surrounding fields to gorge on the harvest-ready wheat, so one of the family went out with a shotgun to scare them away. The wadding of the shot landed in the dry wheat and it ignited like a bomb. In moments, a vicious northerly wind blew the fire down onto the Chaff Mill, and the fields of grain that gave life brought destruction by fire. The Chaff Mill was gutted. Starting life in 1872, the Chaff Mill provided nourishment for farm animals and people alike, milling grains from those surrounding fields and separating seeds from stalks (the eponymous “chaff”). Before long it was a thriving business, becoming a nodal point in the farmer-settler stories of the region; frequented by huge bullock teams as they hauled their loads to and from far-off Adelaide, up and over the massive challenge of Sellicks Hill. Being good Methodists, the Eatts family insured religiously. In those days the insurance company sent their representative around in a horse and buggy to collect up the annual dues door to door. In 1919 he happened to come a couple of weeks late, but they paid up and nobody thought any more about it. The fields grew tall and groaned with a bumper crop of wheat. After years of war and privation it looked like a wonderful return to prosperity.

Tasting Experiences

The Old Chaff Mill Retreat is at 371 Plains Rd,
Sellicks Hill, SA, Australia, in McLaren Vale.