Callington Mill

Callington Mill is a Lincolnshire tower mill built in 1837 in Oatlands, Tasmania by John Vincent. It has recently been restored so that it is now in full working order and is the only operating mill of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the third oldest windmill in Australia. Traditional baker and blacksmith Alan Scott was a central figure at the mill. Today the mill is a major tourist attraction of Oatlands. Visitors are able to climb the internal stairs for a view across Oatlands and surrounds. The mill site comprises the windmill, a granary, stable, miller’s cottage and mill owner’s house.The Vincent familyJohn Vincent was born in 1779 in Cornwall, England. In 1803 he married in London Susannah Rivers who was the same age. Over the next twenty years the couple had seven children while they were living in England. In 1823 at the age of 44 they decided to move to Tasmania. They immigrated with their children on the ship Elizabeth which arrived in Hobart in 1823. After they came to Tasmania they had two more children.Over the next decade John became the proprietor of two licensed hotels, one in Bothwell called the Norwood Inn and one at Spring Hill called the London. His eldest son John Jubilee Vincent was also an innkeeper and ran the Lake Frederick Inn (later Lake Dulverton Inn) at Oatlands. This hotel still stands today.In about 1836 at the age of 57 John decided to build the flour windmill at Oatlands. He used the best technology available in this project. It seems that he was very proud of this investment and he announced its opening in the newspaper in 1837. The advertisement is shown on the right. However his interest in the mill was short-lived and the following year he tried to rent it. He advertised it in the newspaper giving a good description of the mill and its surrounds. It said: