Cider Mill Makes History: First Apple Crush in Over 100 Years at Australian Museum
A 156-year-old cider mill, built in Somerset, UK, has been painstakingly restored to life in Australia, producing its first apple crush in over a century.
A Trans-Atlantic Journey
The historic mill, manufactured by the Albert Day Foundry in Somerset in 1868, had been silent for more than 100 years. Today, it has found a new purpose at the Braidwood Museum and Heritage Centre in Australia. The restoration was led by carpenter Ned Bott, who faced the challenge of recreating missing parts with very little reference material.
The Restoration Challenge
Ned Bott rebuilt the timber parts, hopper, catch box, steel-toothed rollers, roller box, and forged components from scratch. He also cleaned the original ironwork, bringing the machine back to its former glory.
"Finding images of a similar mill was difficult," Bott stated. "I had to rely on the existing parts to recreate the original."
The work required approximately four weeks of effort, stretched over a period of 1.5 years. Remarkably, after the restoration was complete, Bott obtained photographs of an identical mill at a farm in Hestercombe, UK. This discovery may lead to additional fine-tuning of the restored equipment.
A New Chapter for Cider Making
The mill was demonstrated to the public over the weekend, with plans already in place for regular use.
Local cider maker Gary Sully is set to take the project a step further. He plans to use apples grafted from trees at the original property in Majors Creek to produce cider with the restored equipment.
Sully highlighted the significance of the Ingenio mill design, calling it a major advancement in cider making. "It allowed pips and stalks to pass through without crushing, reducing bitterness," he explained.
The restored mill now stands as a testament to both 19th-century engineering and modern-day preservation, ready to produce cider for a new generation.