Brunton, Thomas (1831 - 1908)

Summary

Thomas Brunton was one of the first flour mill owners in Australia to install grooved iron rollers in 1884.

Details

Arrived Melbourne 1853; unsuccessful on goldfields; Melbourne Gas Works for a year; bought a bakery; built a flour-milling plant 1868; visited overseas flour-milling centres 1882 and came back with plans for a new roller mill; helped to found the Corn Trade Association 1884 and was its president 1886; opened a Sydney mill 1887, run mainly by his sons; sold the Melbourne mill 1893 and established the Australian Flour Mills in North Melbourne; bought Roxburgh Park, near Broadmeadows 1903, where he bred cattle, horses and Shropshire sheep. President, Royal Agricultural Society 1895; Harbor Trust commissioner 1890-98. Member for Southern Province, Legislative Council 1890-1904.

Published resources

Book Sections

• Hone, J. Ann, 'Brunton, Thomas (1831-1908), mill-owner' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Douglas Pike, ed., vol. 3 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1969), p. 280. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030259b.htm. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21538660. Details
• 'Brunton, Thomas (1831-1908)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1463148. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_b.html. Details
• Smith, James, ed., The Cyclopedia of Victoria: an historical and commercial review: descriptive and biographical, facts, figures and illustrations: an epitome of progress (Melbourne: Cyclopedia Co, 1903-1905), vol.1: 618 pp, vol.2: 563 pp, vol.3: 643 pp. 'Thomas Brunton' Vol.1 p133. Details