Sawmilling at Villeneuve from 1939 to 1942
From Ron Trim, local historian
After the two large mills at Villeneuve were closed, the Kropps started a mill not far from where Seeney’s mill had been. Bill Kropp and his brother Stan had a large quantity of blackbutt trees nearby on Mt Archer and they hauled it down and began milling. Unfortunately blackbutt was not popular and the enterprise did not last long.
The Kropp family originally came from Ipswich to Villeneuve, and on the way they stopped at Oakey Creek. Another creek in that area was named after them. Later they built a mill there, with Bill and Stan’s nephew, Lionel Kropp was in charge at that time but the distance from a viable marked ruined the business. The Kropps later moved to Kilcoy and opened another mill called Kilcoy Soft and Hardwoods. This mill has now also gone.