Aotearoa, Maheno, North Otago, Oamaru, Travel, Wild Horses

Clarks Mill near Oamaru

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Clarks Mill near Oamaru

On a whim, I stopped at Clarks Mill. I was on my way to Christchurch and when the historic mill came into view, some 15 kilometres south of Oamaru, for no particular reason I pulled the car over and made the decision to have a look around. Unfortunately, the mill was closed and all locked up so I was forced to be content with wandering around the grounds. However, I was able to find out that the milling of wheat and flour was a key component of the early North Otago economy and Clarks Mill 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.

Gemmell’s Crossing, Kakanui River, Maheno, Oamaru

Gemmell’s Crossing

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The Kakanui River – Buy 

Ten kilometres south-west of Oamaru, near Maheno, is the small settlement of Gemmell’s Crossing. Named after James Gemmell from Ayreshire in Scotland, Gemmell purchased a 283 hectare property for farming near Oamaru in 1870. With the Kakanui River running close to his farm, James Gemmell used to drive his cattle over the river at the point now called Gemmell’s Crossing.