On Thursday, 12th May, 2010, the historic Phoenix Roller Mill went under the hammer. The mill last ran 26 years ago. The machinery was installed in 1907. By prior negotiation, the woodwork supporting the machinery, including the lower and upper floors and the trusses, was included with the sale of the mill machinery.
Here is the story of Phoenix Roller Mill and its sale to Sandtone Heritage Trust, with pictures of the machinery and the plans for dismantling and shipping to the Free State.
This video, provided by Grocott's Mail, shows the extraction by crane of the main engine and includes brief snippets of trivia and history from various sources.
The plan is to construct a special building for it and to rebuild it as it is.
This undated painting by local architect J M English gives an impression of the scale of the engine. The main drive belt is on the wide pulley on the far side, going down to the line shaft below the Mill machinery.
Pic: Standstone Estates website