The tiny South Australian town of Penong on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain is hoping a new tourist attraction will put some wind in the sails of the local economy … and bring the grey nomads flocking.
Two volunteers have been lovingly collecting and restoring broken down wind mills from around the area and giving then a new lease on life … and the result is an eye-catching, traffic-stopping display of historic wind power.
So far 20 windmills have been brought back from the grave and illuminate the skyline. They include an old timber William Riddle windmill, a seven-metre Southern Cross, and a massive Comet wind pump called Big Bruce, that was originally used by the railways to pump water to steam trains.
While the Penong Windmill Museum is not to be officially opened until next week, the site has already attracted plenty of attention.
“The tourists are already coming from far and wide,” the co-founder of the operation, Bob Oats, told the ABC. “We even had a couple come out from New Zealand especially to go to the windmills at Penong, which I find unbelievable.”
Bob came up with the idea with friend Tim Hardy several years ago when they decided they wanted to preserve an important part of the farming community’s history at a time when windmills are increasingly being replaced by solar pumps as a way of extracting underground water.
“Without windmills Penong and probably a lot of country areas wouldn’t be around,” Mr Oats told the ABC. “Some look pretty ugly… rusty… broken, but everything is salvageable.”
And with windmills being ‘retired’ all over the countryside, it seems the windmill warriors may have to make room for plenty more artefacts in the years ahead.
“As long as Bob and I are alive I suppose it won’t be finished,” Tim Hardy told the ABC.
We saw some of the windmills in May when doing the Nullarbor Links golf course on the way to W.A. They are very impressive and it is a credit to the people who have restored them. We will make sure we have another good look on the way back east at the end of the year.
Stayed in Penong caravan park for 3 days in May this year. Loved that place. The windmills are awesome. Recommend everybody stop off and have a look.
Visited this very busy site while on a trip to Eyre Peninsula with Truely Tribal. Wonderful way to visit amazing out of the way places in our great outdoors.
The first time I traveled through Penong in 1997, there were a lot of windmills so we assumed that was the only way the town got it’s water.
With this new attraction, I hope they get a lot of passing trade as well.
Good on you Bob and Tim!