Clarks Mill, Maheno, Ōamaru – Buy
Historical Note: I took this photograph all the way to the point of publication, despite feeling there was something about it, that didn’t seem right. Then, I realised what it was. I didn’t like the image at all. I’d done a terrible job in processing it and the finished product looked nothing like what I had imagined. So, I scrapped the entire image and started over. Now you get to see a much better photography, and one I’m actually pleased with.
Photographic Note: The milling of wheat and flour was a key component of the early North Otago economy and Clarks Mill near Oamaru was an important part of that production. Opened in 1867 for the New Zealand and Australia Land Company, Clarks Mill was originally equipped with grinding stones powered by a water wheel. Since the mill was in a rather awkward location beside a bend of the Kakanui River, it required the construction of a long water race to power it.
Plenty of man hours and stories both happy and sad we’ll never know. Great photo