Wagga Lily Flour bag with drawstring top. Photo: Museum of the Riverina, Buchik collection.
The old Murrumbidgee Mill has had a bumpy ride over the past few years as developers have struggled to successfully reinvent the iconic brick complex in the middle of Wagga.
With a portion of the block now under offer from a mystery buyer, we thought we’d look back on a part of the mill’s history and the Wagga Lily Flour bag.
The photograph above shows a Wagga Lily Roller Flour bag with a drawstring top from the Buchik collection. The mill was opened in 1890 and the calico and jute bags were printed on-site.
Murrumbidgee Wagga Lily Flour Mill. Photo: The Mills Archive Trust.
Bags were in abundance during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the Wagga Wagga and District Historical Society records that by “1896 it had the capacity to produce 2160 bags of flour and by 1910 it was capable of producing over 50 tons of flour per day”.
Within 20 years the mill was exporting flour to Europe, South Africa, Egypt and a number of other countries and production was scaled up in 1918 when four concrete grain silos were built near the railway line, and again in 1927 when another 10 silos were built.
In 1927, the plant was producing 20,000 to 22,000 tons a year, and the steam engine was replaced by electric power from the municipal supply.
Unloading at the Murrumbidgee Milling Co-operative circa 1910. Photo: Museum of the Riverina, Brunskill Album.
Millions of flour bags bearing the Wagga Lily logo were now spread across the globe and were being put to use in myriad ways, from lining house walls to underpants, clothing, pillowcases and even marble bags.
The high-quality material was greatly prized during the Great Depression between 1929 and 1939 when itinerant workers passing through Wagga made blankets and rugs from the fabric, leading to the name ‘wagga’ rugs.
While wagga’s came in all shapes and sizes, they generally consisted of a patchwork of all available fabric from discarded clothing to tarpaulins and sacks. The calico Wagga Lilly bags were often used to line the inside of the makeshift wagga quilts.
Writing for Australia’s National Quilt Register, Wendy Hucker suggested that there was a philanthropic tradition at the mill.
“There is anecdotal evidence that the Wagga Flour Mill late last century [19th] and early this [20th] had a special place where staff put flawed wheat bags and 150 lb. jute flour bags that couldn’t be reused,” she said.
“The men were welcome just to collect these. One way or another opportunity and necessity in the Wagga district reflect the origin of the wagga.”
The mill ceased operation in August 1978. The former flour mill was listed by the National Trust in 1981.
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