Deanmill, Western Australia

After the Government Trading Concerns Act 1912 was passed in December of that year, several State-operated businesses were established.^[2] One of these was State Saw Mills, which commenced with purchasing the South-West Timber Hewers' Co-operative for £80,000.^[3] Construction on the State's Number 1 sawmill, later called Deanmill, began in 1913, as did construction of the Number 2 and 3 mills at Big Brook, later called Pemberton.^[3] The mills cost an estimated £138,000,^[3] and were to provide timber railway sleepers for the Trans-Australian Railway.^[2] Construction of the mills was delayed by heavy rainfall, and the railway sleepers were delivered late.^[3] Other problems included shipping disputes and the Commonwealth government's price for sleepers.^[3]

State Saw Mills created a township surrounding the Number 1 mill, called Deanmill after a construction engineer named A. Dean.^[3] They followed accepted practice at the time of placing a timber mill in a valley with accommodation and other facilities close by.^[3] Deanmill Primary School was built in 1914 by the Public Works Department in association with State Saw Mills.^[4] The school initially consisted of a single classroom, administration building and shed, all constructed out of timber.^[4]

Deanmill currently consists of the sawmill, mill houses, the Deanmill Workers' Club, the Deanmill Football Oval and part of the Deanmill Tramway and Heritage Trail.^[5]

Premier Geoff Gallop visited Deanmill in December 2002 when the State government was compiling its Forest Management Plan, to start in 2004.^[5] The Government entered into negotiations with Sotico to provide a guaranteed volume of jarrah sawlogs over 10 years, to maintain the timber industry in the area.^[5] Sotico was a subsidiary of Wesfarmers, which sold the company in 2004.^[6]

Several assessments have been made regarding the environmental impact of the sawmill and associated activities. A 2004 assessment by Wesfarmers showed arsenic contamination in and surrounding a drainage channel to Lefroy Brook.^[6][7] The WA government accepted responsibility for the issue, as State Saw Mills used arsenic to treat timber in the 1920s.^[7] Wesfarmers accepted responsibility for groundwater and soil contamination with creosote, and the clean-up cost was shared by Wesfarmers and the State government.^[7]

The rural district which includes Deanmill had 405 residents as of the 2006 Census, 50.4% males and 49.6% females.^[8] The median age of persons in Deanmill was 39 years old, and 90.9% of residents were Australian citizens.^[8] The most common answers for occupation included labourers (27.4%), managers (18.4%), technicians and trades workers (12.4%), professionals (10.9%) and sales workers (9.5%), and the most common industries were log sawmilling and timber dressing (16.4%), school education (9.0%), growing of fruit and tree nuts (8.5%), farming of sheep, cattle and grain (4.0%) and State Government administration (3.5%).^[8] The median weekly household income was $821, compared with the Australian average of $1,027.^[8]

• Geoscience Australia: Deanmill