When Nathan Woodruff walked into an auction for a soon-to-be-closed windmill manufacturer, he only wanted to pick up a few spare parts.
Instead, he left with the rights to one of Mount Gambier’s oldest companies and most famous exports.
Varcoe Windmills were first built in the South Australian town in 1911, but last year manufacturer Dean & McCabe closed its doors, citing a drop in demand.
When Dean & McCabe’s remaining tools and materials for making the windmills went up for auction, it did not receive much interest, allowing Mr Woodruff to buy the name and manufacturing rights.
Woodruff was able to secure many of the windmill parts at an auction.(ABC South East: Sam Bradbrook)
An agricultural mechanic by trade and a self-described history buff, Mr Woodruff said he wanted to keep a famous Mount Gambier name alive.
“I like the history of Mount Gambier and there’s nothing more iconic to Mount Gambier than Varcoe Windmills, I feel,” he said.
“It’s a really a key industry that’s still left, when so many other industries have left the town.
“I was thrilled to try and take that opportunity to preserve it.”
While Mr Woodruff was able to secure some parts and machinery during the auction, he missed out on a lot of important gear.
Varcoe Windmills are dotted across farms in South Australia’s south-east.(ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
It meant he was now working to find the materials and machines he needed and reading through design manuals to learn on the job how to build the windmills from scratch.
“It’s been slow to get the ball rolling again, starting off with absolutely no stock,” Mr Woodruff said.
“It takes a fair while, by the time you order in steel and make the various components, to get stock back on the shelves.”
Embarking on a ‘passion project’
When Dean and McCabe closed down last year the company was one of only a handful of windmill manufacturers left.
In the year before its closure the company sold 25 windmills, compared to 250 per year in the early 2000s.
Mr Woodruff is looking to build Varcoe Windmills and his business from scratch.(ABC South East SA: Sam Bradbrook)
Solar-powered pumps have become more popular on farms, but Mr Woodruff said there was still some economic and sentimental reasons to keep windmills going.
“I’d describe it as a passion project because if it was a get-rich-quick scheme, I’ve definitely gone down the wrong rabbit hole,” he said.
“But I still feel there’s enough of a future to keep me in business.”
Kelvin Foote started as a labourer at Dean & McCabe and ended up as the last man in Mount Gambier building and fixing windmills.
He said Mr Woodruff had a big job ahead if he wanted to be successful but there was still farmers who required repairs and new windmills.
Kelvin Foote was the supervisor at Dean & McCabe Windmills before the business closed in March, 2023.(ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
“A lot of people say the windmill will come back,” Mr Foote said.
“It’d be nice to see it and it’s one of those things where it’s a proven technology and over the years designs rarely change.
“They’re virtually the same designs now as when they were first built. It’s old, it’s proven and it’s not broken, so why fix it?”
A manufacturing history
Despite the Varcoe name having a long association with Mount Gambier, Mr Foote said the history of local manufacturing was not well publicised.
The old Varcoe factory in the centre of town was now an art gallery and some of the final windmill parts produced by Dean & McCabe were in a museum in nearby Millicent.
Mr Woodruff is looking to rebuild the Varcoe brand from a shed in Mount Gambier.(ABC South East SA: Sam Bradbrook)
“Back in the day, about 15 years ago, we had about five people in the workshop and about three in the office and you were absolutely flat out,” Mr Foote said.
“You were always 40 windmills behind.”
Following in Mr Foote’s footsteps as the only man in town making windmills, Mr Woodruff said he was keen for the challenge.
“I think it’s an absolute privilege to leave your mark on the landscape like that for something so iconic across Australia,” he said.
“People think of Australia and they think of windmills and big open country.”
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