It came as quite a surprise when a young lady from the National Trust in Sydney sought permission “to include a pic of McCrossin’s Mill in the soon-to-be published National Trust Desk Diary for 2024.”
Yes, young lady! My stereotypical Trust type is a doddery old codger (like me), or a dowager in pearls and twinset. Surprising also, that the National Trust knew about our Mill, given that it’s not one of their properties.
The unshakeable commitment to save and restore the derelict McCrossin’s precint began in 1979. Dedicated newcomers to Uralla gave their all to the cause, but under uncompromising professional supervision. The Rocks, and Woolloomooloo, then later The Mint and Hyde Park Barracks in Macquarie Street.
With Terry Hogan, Australian History lecturer at UNE (and a dedicated volunteer at Mill working bees), I published an inventory of Victorian era buildings in Uralla town for the Armidale National Trust (ANT), who, apparently, felt it beneath their dignity to venture further south than Saumarez House, a Trust property.
In 1975, when Uralla’s 1863 Coleby’s Bakery was demolished, the President of ANT bought the bricks to pave his courtyard, an unusual approach to heritage conservation, you’d surely agree. The real clincher came out of the mouth of an Armidale identity at a Trust barbeque. She said, and I quote: “That Uralla Mill project could have been wonderful, but it’s been ruined by a pack of amateurs.”
However, in 1982, architect Peter Myers won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Award for the Restoration of McCrossin’s Mill. And now, 2023, Jascelyn Taylor’s image of the Mill (seen below) is featured on the cover of the Trust’s Desk Diary, 2024.
KENT MAYO
NATIONAL TRUST DESK DIARY 2024
This beautiful photo of McCrossin’s Mill taken by local photographer and resident, Jascelyn Taylor, was chosen by the National Trust for the cover of their 2024 Desk Diary.
Christine Rich, from the National Trust, contacted Uralla Historical Society with a view to using a photo of the Mill in the body of the publication, but was so impressed by Jascelyn’s image, along with the other members of the group charged with designing the diary, that they insisted that it had to be used on the cover. An honour for the Mill, a credit to Jascelyn’s talent, and great PR for Uralla.
These diaries are available for purchase at McCrossin’s Mill, @ $25each.
