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All Saints Anglican Church at Tamrookum near Beaudesert is family-owned, built in 1915 as a memorial to Robert Martin Collins.
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Elgin Vale Sawmill is heritage listed
The Elgin Vale Sawmill, built in 1944 and located about 80km southwest of Gympie, is one of the newest entries in the Queensland Heritage Register.
When it was built in 1944 to replace an earlier sawmill, Queensland Heritage Council Chair David Eades said Elgin Vale was thought to be one of Queensland's largest sawmills.
"Steam-driven sawmills were once common throughout Queensland with around 40 operating in the Wide Bay-Burnett district alone in the 1940s," Mr Eades said.
"There are no known sawmills in Queensland comparable to the Elgin Vale sawmill in terms of retention of original layout, fabric and operating ability."
Mr Eades said the sawmill demonstrated the development of steam-driven sawmilling operations in the Wide-Bay Burnett region, which was an important region for Queensland's timber industry.
"Through its original fabric and layout, the Elgin Vale sawmill is exceptional in Queensland for demonstrating the process of using steam technology to mill hoop pine, which was one of the state's principal building materials," he said.
"The place is also important in demonstrating the pattern of establishing softwood sawmills in close proximity to naturally occurring stands of hoop pine.
"The remains of the Elgin Vale township, constructed from 1927 to accommodate workers and their families, help us to understand the organisation and domestic life of timber settlements that existed in twentieth century Queensland."
Mr Eades said the Elgin Vale sawmill site was also important because of its aesthetic significance.
"The place possesses evocative qualities generated by the strong visual impact of the tough industrial look of weathered timber and corrugated galvanised iron set within a quiet rural setting," he said.
"The remains of the township evoke a sense of isolation and the decline of a self contained way of life that has largely vanished in Queensland."
Elgin Vale Sawmill was built in 1944 to replace an earlier mill established in 1927 that was destroyed by fire.
When the mill closed in 1987 it was still dependent on steam to drive its operations, long after most mills had converted to electricity.
Following council amalgamations in 2008, ownership of the mill was transferred to Gympie Regional Council. As recently as 2006 the steam driven operations of the Elgin Vale sawmill were operated for visitors, offering an insight into a now rare, but once common practice throughout the Wide Bay-Burnett/Queensland region.
The complex that has been heritage listed comprises a large open mill shed, detached office, remnants of the former mill township, two cottages and a toilet shed.
Elgin Vale Sawmill was identified as part of the statewide heritage survey, being carried out by the Department of Environment and Resource Management's Heritage Branch.
The Queensland Heritage Council is the state's independent peak body and advisor on heritage matters and determines what places are entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Places that are entered in the Heritage Register are considered of importance to Queensland's history and are protected under heritage legislation.