Keppie's sawmill at Paterson
Keppie's sawmill, run by Peter and Dick Keppie, was a landmark on the bank of Paterson River in Paterson village from about 1890[1] until it was badly damaged by fire in 1911.[2]
Keppie's sawmill at Paterson about 1909, with the rail bridge under construction behind it (photo: Paterson Historical Society).
In late 1912 the fire-damaged sawmill was purchased by Messrs R Sims & Son, A Ebbeck and C Bridge, with the intention of improving and expanding the plant. We don't know exactly when the sawmill finally shut.[3]
Keppie's sawmill with bullock teams passing by on 'low road' north (Commercial Road) (photo: Paterson Historical Society).
Notes
1. Janece McDonald and Lawrence Henderson. Timbergetters, Sawmills and Sawmillers: 1800 to 2011 Maitland Region. Janece McDonald, 2011.
2. Maitland Mercury, 7 April 1911, 5.
3. Maitland Mercury, 3 December 1912 (courtesy of Janece McDonald).