The last World War II munitions factory building in Melbourne’s west was recognised last week when a national heritage marker was put in place at Cairnlea’s Black Powder Mill.
The mill was part of the former Albion Explosives Factory, itself one of four such factories in Melbourne’s west.
The Cairnlea mill worked overtime to provide gunpowder for the war effort from 1942 to 1944, and its tower is the last remaining of some 400 buildings demolished at the Albion site as it transformed into the modern day suburb of Cairnlea.
The mill ceased munitions operations after the war, but Friends of the Black Powder Mill president Noel Tozer worked there from 1957 until 1981 after it was converted for other manufacturing.
“During the war, this factory and the others in the west employed around 25,000 people, so it was an important part of the war effort,” Mr Tozer said. “I feel almost certain that it increased its worth when Japan entered the war and closed off Pacific shipping channels, so gunpowder for fuses had to be made here.”
The western suburbs’ munitions factories, which included two factories in Maribyrnong and one at Footscray, became known as Australia’s Arsenal during the war.
With the recognition of a heritage marker from Engineers Australia, Mr Tozer said the site’s history would now be preserved for future generations.
“The mill is a reminder of the industry and the people that worked in it during the war,” he said. “After the war, it also spawned a number of other industries … part of Victorian manufacturing.
“Normally these buildings are closed … but this is open to the public,” he said.
