Sawmilling at Villeneuve in the 1940’s
From Ron Trim, local historian
When the Tilney brothers left Woodford, one of the brothers, Fred, selected land at Villeneuve next to James Green. Fred had three sons and a vast quantity of pine on his block, so he set up a mill and started milling. They cut a lot of pine and loaded it onto the rail and sold it to Fredin in Woodford as good pine was scarce in the Woodford area by that time.
Between the wars Fred retired from the business and his sons Arthur, Ted and Ernie took over the mill which then became known as Tilney Bros. The mill went into the case timber market and many lads from the local area were employed there. The business did very well until the Second World War came along, when all of their staff left them and joined the Army. During the war Ernie was sent to Scotland to work in mills as timber was required by the Armed Services.
During the 1930s the Tilney brothers had built a mill at Westvale, otherwise known as Oakey Creek. This mill closed at the beginning of the Second World War, but the mill itself was bought by the Osmonds who relocated and rebuilt in Bellthorpe. They worked this mill until the 1940s. This mill was subsequently pulled down and donated the Caboolture Historical Village.
The Tilney Brother’s sawbench. Left to right Ern Tilney, Rev. Edmund Axelsen, Ted Tilney and Arthur Tilney.
Ted and Arthur Tilney at Villeneuve with a loaded wagon.
