Lahey's Canungra Sawmill
| Lahey's Canungra Sawmill | |
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_at_Lahey%27s_Canungra_Sawmill.jpg)
Machinery foundations at Lahey's Canungra Sawmill, 2008
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| Location | 10-26 Finch Road, Canungra, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 28°00′57″S 153°09′48″E / 28.0158°S 153.1633°ECoordinates: 28°00′57″S 153°09′48″E / 28.0158°S 153.1633°E |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1884 |
| Official name: Lahey's Canungra Sawmill Complex | |
| Type | archaeological |
| Designated | 6 March 2009 |
| Reference no. | 645602 |
| Significant period | 1884 - c.1935-9 |
| Significant components | brick scatter/deposit, metal scatter/deposit, building foundations/ruins |
 Location of Lahey's Canungra Sawmill in Queensland
Location of Lahey's Canungra Sawmill in Queensland
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Lahey's Canungra Sawmill is a heritage-listed former sawmill at 10-26 Finch Road, Canungra, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1884. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 March 2009.
The Canungra Sawmill operated between 1884 and c.1935. The mill was wholly owned and operated by the Lahey family until 1921. Timber from throughout the Canungra region was brought to the mill from the company's timber stands via their private tramway (Lahey's Canungra Tramway Tunnel) and transported out of Canungra on the Government railway line. The mill was rebuilt after major fires in 1897 and 1906 and modernised with new milling equipment and updates to processing techniques were made regularly. The mill and all associated equipment, infrastructure and timber stands were finally sold by the Lahey's in 1921. The mill changed hands twice more (in 1923 and 1933) as the viability of the timber industry in the region waned, before closing for a final time c.1935.
European settlement of the area surrounding the Coomera River commenced in 1843 with the establishment of the Tambourine holding. Early timber harvesting commenced in the 1860s by Hugh Mahony who cut and hauled cedar logs to mills in Ipswich.
The Lahey family emigrated from their native Ireland to Australia in 1862. Francis Lahey, his wife and eleven children arrived in Sydney, but immediately travelled north to Brisbane. The family began farming in the Pimpama region in 1870. In 1875 Francis Lahey purchased a sugar mill at Tygum, near Waterford, for his sons. Francis expanded the operations at Tygum to include sawmilling, an industry that would dominate the working lives of the next generation of the Lahey family.
After being informed of quality timber in the region, David Lahey commenced construction of a sawmill at Canungra on 2 October 1884. During the same year David, John, Isaiah, Thomas and Evangeline Lahey all applied for and were granted selections of land around Canungra totalling over 3,000 acres. Lahey's Canungra Sawmill was established on Portion 61, Canungra on land leased from Robert Christie and beside what is now known as Christie Street. With the construction of the mill, David Lahey also had a number of small cottages built on site for mill workers while others were established in and around what would become the township of Canungra.
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