Varcoe Windmills were first made in 1911 when Mr T H varcoe purchased the blacksmithing business of a Mr Williams, who already made a windmill called a 'Truman' (Truman was an earlier blacksmith).Truman was a Lord Mayor Of Mt Gambier (possibly the first).
Mr Varcoe did not like the Truman mill as it was big and a direct drive, he then set about designing a smaller oil bath geared mill, which was marketed successfully locally.
Gradually the windmill sales grew and in about 1920 Varcoe made what he claimed as the first oil bath, direct action windmill produced in the world.
Over the years, several models were produced and perfected, the present doubled geared mill and the oil bath direct action mill are his design, almost unchanged.
In 1979 the Mount Gambier City Council bought the Varcoe Foundry Property (which was built around 1913 by Mr Varcoe) in the city centre (Ferris Street) as the site was required for the construction of a civic centre, only the facade of the building remains. Varcoe sold the windmill part of his business to Chapman and Saunders Pty Ltd. They continued the manufacture of mills until December 1984 when Dean & McCabe Pty Ltd was set up for the whole purpose of manufacturing and marketing the Varcoe Windmills, sold both in Australia and overseas. With several new models including a small direct action mill running on ball race bearings, and a 10ft wheel geared model based on the original Varcoe model.

Varcoe Windmill