The Mill and Outdoor Oven

In the eighteenth century the Dutch East India Company encouraged farmers in this area to cultivate wheat a great quantities were needed to supply not only the local inhabitants, but also ships calling at Table Bay. As the official agent of the Company in the district, the Drostdy held the monopoly for threshing, milling and baking.

Sheaves of wheat were laid on the floor and threshed by horses. It was then winnowed by men with pitchforks, which removed the wheat from the chaff.

The building a little way up the hill is a replica of the old stable. And the water-mill housed the mill machinery and provided humble accommodation for the miller. This mill made use of an undershot system, where the stream passes through under the wheel, pushing against the paddles and driving the wheel in an anti-clockwise direction.

The horse-mill is a replica of one which was situated in Aurora, Northern Cape, and most of the machinery is authentic. The mill machinery is similar to the water-mill, but it is driven by horses (or donkeys) instead of water.

The oven was built so that the entire process from threshing to baking could be demonstrated. These types of outside oven were found in rural areas all over the world.

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