Mintaro slate trough

Slate horse trough beside Mintaro Institute. The slate quarried in the local quarries (opened 1857 & still in production) had many uses from street paving to wine vats.

 

“The Flag Stone Quarry at Mintaro is now open, and in working order. The undersigned is prepared to supply Flagstones of any reasonable size and thickness for Flooring, Cisterns, Chimney Pieces, Headstones, Sills, &c. The stone is of a deep blue colour, and has a perfectly smooth surface. All orders punctually attended to. Thompson Priest.” [Adelaide Observer 17 Oct 1857 advert]

 

“For Sale, adjoining Mintaro, a fine Eighty-Acre Agricultural Section, enclosed with Post and Rail Fence; Running Water throughout the year. This property contains a valuable Slate Quarry, from which large quantities of excellent Slate, have been and are still being sent to different parts of the colony. It adjoins the Patent Copper Company's Farm. Apply to Peter Brady, Mintaro.” [Register 7 Jul 1858 advert]

 

“Mr. Smith, late of the Burra, and now of the Mintaro Hotel. . . has also purchased, for £775, the paddock containing the famous slate quarry in the vicinity of the Company's farm, lately the property of Mr. P. Brady. The quarry is at present hired by Mr. Priest (whose term will expire in a few months) at a rental of £20 per annum. Mr. Priest, during his occupation, has succeeded in extracting a great quantity of very valuable slabs from the quarry, some of which have had surfaces of nearly 100 square feet.” [Adelaide Observer 31 Jul 1858]

 

“I observed this day, passing through our township, a slate for the Exhibition, from the Mintaro Slate Quarry. . . Mr. Priest forwarding it by his own team right through, to prevent accident in unloading, &c., at the railway. It is a most splendid piece of flagging. The measurement of it is 12 feet 1 inch in length, by 9 feet in breadth, and l¾ and one sixteenth inch in thickness. . . The flag forwarded is simply squared; the surface natural as it came from the quarry. Two flags were forwarded to the London Exhibition from this quarry, and received honorable mention. This quarry has been at work for the last 11 years, and the average number of workmen employed throughout the year is about 12.” [Advertiser 12 Oct 1867]

 

“Mintaro Slate Quarries, which are the property of Mr. Thompson Priest. They are situated at a short distance from the township. . . The produce of these quarries is admirably adapted for flagging purposes, for which it is considered superior to the Willunga slate, being of closer grain and not liable to shell off. Roofing slates, however, cannot be made. At present Mr. Priest has seven men employed.” [Express & Telegraph 13 Apr 1870]

 

“Mr. Priest, the proprietor of the famous slate quarries, is continually enlarging his business, having now a considerable trade with Victoria and New South Wales. He has opened up an increased extent of the quarries, and can supply our unrivalled flagging in almost any quantity. He has also lately introduced into Mintaro about thirty souls, nearly all newly arrived immigrants.” [Advertiser 7 Jul 1876]

 

“Mintaro. . . A company has also been formed to open a new slate quarry in close proximity to the slate quarry. Two blocks are already sunk — one about 12 or 13 feet, and the other somewhat less in depth. Slate has been struck of good color, but soft at present. It is intended to sink more holes to test the ground, but it will be some time before the same quality slate is produced as that at the old quarry.” [Northern Argus 4 Sep 1883]

 

“The Mintaro slate quarry will, no doubt, improve in its business, as it has passed solely into the hands of Mr. E. G. Priest, who has managed the business for a great number of years.” [Northern Argus 10 Sep 1889]

 

“It was generally thought that when the Mintaro slate quarry passed into a Melbourne firm's hands things would have improved, which is not the case; in fact, it was very much better under the former proprietors, for there is not one-third the men employed there now that there were some time ago.” [Northern Argus 25 Apr 1890]

 

“instructions to sell by auction. . . The Mintaro Slate Quarry, situate on the western half of Section No. 178, Hundred of Clare, South Australia, and comprising 40 Acres of Freehold Land. The quality of the Slate from this Quarry is well known and cannot be surpassed. The Quarry is situated about 4 miles from Mintaro Railway Station on the Main North line.” [Register 16 Jul 1891 advert]

 

“deputation which recently waited on the Minister of Public Works in Victoria and complained that that department was giving a preference to the Mintaro slates, imported from South Australia in the erection of public buildings to the detriment of the Castlemaine slate quarries.” [Northern Argus 3 Jun 1892]

 

“A meeting of the residents was held at the Devonshire Hotel on Monday afternoon, to consider the advisableness of trying to open up the quarry on the Chief Justice's land adjoining the present Mintaro flagstone quarries. . . Mr. Torr said that if the workmen would take an interest in the affair he was prepared to put £300 into the concern at once. . . There is very little doubt that the stone in the proposed quarry is the same as that in the present Mintaro quarries, and the cost of opening would not be so very great.” [Register15 Dec 1892]

 

“Mintaro. . . The flagstone quarries are kept busy, chiefly with orders from the neighboring States. At present a large number of wine vats, with a holding capacity of 1,470 gallons each, are in course of construction. Of late years there has been a growing demand for Mintaro flagstone wine vats, and they are steadily replacing the large wooden vats.” [Advertiser 23 Jan 1904]

 

“Mintaro is famous for its slate quarries, which contain an unlimited quantity of the best slate in the world. . . and can be raised in blocks 18 ft by 12 ft. Originally a Melbourne company worked a slate quarry, but liquidated after conducting business for some years. A local company was then formed, principally through the support of the late Mr James Torr, and the energy of the secretary (Mr W E Giles).” [Kapunda Herald 3 Jun 1904]

 

“Mintaro. . . Slate was first discovered in this neighborhood by Mr. Peter Brady, in the early, fifties. This was some distance south of the present quarry. From this quarry the discoverer procured a considerable quantity of stone, and afterwards leased the property to Mr. Thompson Priest, who worked the slate for 30 years. On the expiry of this lease several ineffectual attempts were made to develop the industry by Victorian capital. Owing mainly to the enterprise of Mr. W. E. Giles and the late Mr. James Torr, a limited liability company was formed in 1893. . . The present workings measure 300 ft. by 100 ft. by 120 ft. m depth. The strata are extremely well defined, and probably extend for several miles. The quarry is situated on a block of 15 acres, leased from Sir Samuel Way. It is about five miles from the railway-station, but is not on the site of the original quarry. . . The massive stones are raised by steel cranes, worked by a steam engine. They are loaded on trucks running on short tramlines.” [Advertiser 8 Jun 1910]

 

“The stone is applied to various purposes. Monuments and pavements are largely manufactured from Mintaro slate. . . It is also used as kerbstones, outer stairways, ledges in lavatories and laboratory tables. On account of its smoothness and evenness it is very much sought after for billiard tables and electric tables. . . in flooring cheese and butter factories. For similar reasons it is employed by vignerons for fermenting tanks.” [Chronicle 11 Jun 1910]

 

THOMPSON PRIEST

“PRIEST. — [Died] On the 10th inst., at his residence, Mintaro, Thompson Priest, J.P., aged 68, proprietor of the Mintaro Flagstone Quarries. A colonist of 33 years.” [Northern Argus 11 May 1888]

 

“Mr. Thompson Priest, J.P. . . landed on these shores in 1855, and he shortly afterwards located himself at Mintaro. For some years he was a member of the Clare District Council, and after the separation from Clare he became a member of the Stanley District Council, over which he ably presided for the last 18 years. Soon after he settled down in Mintaro he became the lessee of the celebrated local flagstone quarries, and his name in connection therewith is known in this and the other colonies. He was also a Commissioner of the North Midland Road Board for several years.” [Northern Argus 11 May 1888]

 

JAMES SAMPSON TORR

“TORR. — [Died] On the 15th November, at his residence, Mintaro, James Sampson Torr, aged 78 years.” [Register 20 Nov 1894]

 

“Mr. James Torr, of Mintaro. . . came to South Australia in 1847. . . He had had large experience in mining, both in Devonshire and Cornwall, as well as in Spain. Shortly after his arrival he went to the Burra Mine. . . he visited the Victorian gold fields, and was one of the fairly lucky ones. Returning to South Australia, he settled in the neighbourhood of Mintaro and entered into farming pursuits, connecting with them the management of the Devonshire Hotel, Mintaro. . . there are not many counties in South Australia in which he has not had land at one time or another. He had been known for many years as one of the largest landowners in the colony. . . Mr. Torr was married twice. His only son is dead, but he has several grandchildren.” [Register 21 Nov 1894]

 

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