Agriculture was unpromising, but related processes flourished. Macarthur’s windmill (built in 1807) was built from wood on his Pyrmont grant, but languished. Millers were not discouraged: Victoria Steam Mill on the site of Paddy’s Market (from the 1840s), then Freeman & Sons at Allen Street in the 1880s, bought out by Edwin Davey in 1901 (now incorporated in an apartment block at Wentworth Park).

For more information, visit the Pyrmont History website.