Richard’s Mill – 1907 to 1913
William
Richards built a mill in 1907 high up on the slopes of Mt Donna Buang, about 1 km north of the O’Shannassy Aqueduct.
He had also
built a “double-deck” bridge over the Yarra to carry a tramway with sawn logs to the railway station. This followed the
present-day Brisbane Hill Rd.
The Mill was supplied
with logs from a winch-hauled incline, starting very close to the present-day Mt Donna Tourist Rd. The actual location of
the top of the incline is near the present-day "Yarra Valley Lookout"
The Yarra-Silvan underground conduit crosses
this land, just down from the Aqueduct.
The concrete bridge over the Aqueduct survives to the present day and is in
remarkably good condition, about 1 km west of the Mt Victoria Walking Track crossing.
This Mill
closed down in 1913.
