Remembering James Lloyd Hassell

Remembering James Lloyd Hassell

James Lloyd Hassell was an early settler in Oamaru. He is remembered for the windmill he erected on the block of land in the South Hill area now bordered by Stour, Rother, Towey and Lune Streets. The mill was called Hassell’s Mill and was demolished many years ago. While Hassell is buried in the Oamaru Cemetery, there is no monument to the old windmill, only pieces of its foundations buried in the yards of the private homes that now sit on its site.

James Lloyd Hassell was born in Surrey, England, circa 1819. He left England for Victoria, Australia where he occupied a run which was then called Mooraby. While information on this area is hard to come by, it is believed that his plot of land went on to become a large goldfield.

Hassell, however, did not stay to reap the benefits of the gold, and travelled away from Australia to New Zealand. He settled in North Otago, securing the Oamaru Run from the Filleul brothers in 1859. His first journey from Dunedin to Oamaru was a memorable one. Hassell made his way to Oamaru on horseback with only a compass to guide him. The trip was made overland, as there were not yet roads or tracks in the area.

Once arriving in Oamaru, Hassell chartered a ship to bring his family, cattle, sheep and farm hands to his new homeland. He erected his first home on the approximate site of the current Oamaru Public Library, he did not remain there for long however as he eventually moved on to a homestead in the area that was once referred to as Cave Valley, near Whitstone.

As well as being a run holder, Hassell owned many early Oamaru businesses: grain stores, a malt house, wool stores and a number of flour mills. He was responsible for building the first flour mill in Oamaru in 1866, a large Oamaru stone structure situated near the top of Severn Street overlooking the public gardens.

Hassell’s Mill was an early Oamaru landmark; it had a large imposing tower that could be seen clearly from a distance. It was eight stories high with milling machinery on each floor and was used to process flour, bran and oatmeal. In the centre of each floor was an opening for hoisting and lowering grain between the floors. Access between floors was possible with the use of a long ladder that went from the basement up to the top of the tower. The mill was initially operated by wind power, as it had four wind sails. However, Hassell found that wind was not the best means for creating power for the mill and he eventually installed a steam engine.

By the mid 1880s, Hassell’s mill became outdated by the construction of flourmills in the Oamaru area with more advanced machinery. Hassell’s mill closed down in 1886 and in 1888 the life of an eleven year old boy by the name of James Third, was tragically lost while he and his brother William were in the mill looking for birds nests; he fell from the sixth floor of the mill to the basement. The mill received a bad reputation after this event, its machinery and out buildings was dismantled in 1894 and it was eventually demolished in 1906.

After the closure of his flourmill, Hassell had no shortage of ventures to go on with. As well as running a malt house he was a reputable breeder of sheep and a member of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association. He was an elder of St Paul’s Church, a Councillor, a member of the Harbour Board and a Justice of the Peace.

James Lloyd Hassell passed away on 3 May 1896, he was 77 years old. He was survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters.

All information in this article comes from the North Otago Museum Archive.

Sources for this article:

Brown, J. A. (date unknown) ‘Hassell’s Mill was Early Oamaru Landmark’, North Otago Museum Archive, n. 35222.
Muirhead, S. (1990). ‘Where is Cave Valley’, in Historic North Otago, pp. 86-88.
North Otago Times (3 February 1888). Inquest – James Third, p 3.
Oamaru Mail (7 May 1896) Obituary, Mr J. L. Hassell. p.3

Written by Shanann Carr, Curator of Archives, June 2009