Built on the determination and grit of its pioneers, Spreyton’s legacy is one of resilience, innovation, and a deep connection to the land.
At sunrise, the steady hum of paddle wheels turning echoed from the river, the air filled with the smell of fresh-cut timber and damp earth. Dressed in thick woollen shirts, men braved the bitter cold as they left their warm fires and simple huts to chop down trees or dig for coal, driven by hope and the promise of a better future.
When Europeans arrived in the 1850s, they found this area covered in dense forests and full of possibilities, a place both wild and wondrous.
The discovery of coal near Tarleton, now called Latrobe, sparked change, bringing miners, timber workers, immigrants, and ticket-of-leave men to this rugged landscape. They came with determination, ready to build a new life in a place as tough as it was beautiful.
It was in this often-unforgiving region of Tasmania that Stephen Kelcey, a man of vision and unshakable resolve, made his mark. In 1856, he purchased a stretch of land to provide timber for the Geelong Railway Company, naming the property “Maidstone” after his hometown in England.
Kelcey wasn’t just a settler—he was an innovator. Using the tides of the Mersey River, he powered a tidal flour mill and built sawmills, brickyards, and bone mills, all bustling with activity.
Today, little remains of this extraordinary feat—just a quiet stretch of creekbank and the faint outlines of a dam wall, weathered by time. If this creek is low enough, you may just see the wall remnants stretching out from the banks
Transforming the area and laying foundations for the thriving community that would follow, Kelcey’s efforts opened the door to more settlement and industry. His land later became home to orchards and is remembered as a symbol of resilience and innovation.
The hills behind Spreyton are named Kelcey Tier in his honour. Before his death at 95, he donated land for a local school and his love for this area lives on, being buried with his wife within the school yard of Spreyton Primary.
As Spreyton grew, so did its industries, including the Ovaltine factory, which relied on locally mined coal. Over time, the cleared land soon blossomed with orchards, with apple trees spreading across the landscape as a sign of growth and renewal.
From Stephen Kelcey’s bold vision to the thriving apple orchards that followed, Spreyton has always been shaped by resilience, creativity, and respect for the land. Today, these values remain alive as the community honours its past while building a future rooted in tradition.
A testament to resilience, creativity and determination.
Stephen Kelcey’s ingenuity was ahead of its time. His tidal mill, likely the only one of its kind in Australia, was a remarkable feat of engineering. Positioned along the banks of the Mersey River, where Figure of Eight Creek met the tide, Kelcey built a dam spanning the river arm. At its heart stood his twin mills—a sawmill and a flour mill—powered not by steam or manpower, but by the ceaseless rise and fall of the tides.
Using a sophisticated system of sluice gates and paddle wheels, the mill harnessed the ocean’s flow. As the tide rose, water flooded into the creek behind the dam. When the tide receded, Kelcey’s gates opened, releasing the trapped water in a controlled rush. This outflow spun two enormous paddle wheels—one driving the flour mill’s grinding machinery, the other powering the sawmill.
Kelcey’s creation was a testament to resilience, creativity, and the determination to build something lasting from the land’s bounty. Though only remnants remain, they whisper of a man who dared to dream boldly and a place forever shaped by his vision.
