14 March 2020
Our WuHoo find free fun Friday... Have you been to the Parrs Water Wheel on Mill Rd, Pleasant Point? We went for a wee drive to investigate with my father Geoff. It's a Category 2 listed Heritage Site and was first constructed in 1865 by the Parr Brothers, operating until 1905. It powered the gear to grind local grains in a three-story building. A water race channelled water from the Opihi River to the overshot water wheel. There was a deadly flood in 1868. The Parr Brothers also established a five sailed windmill in Timaru in 1871 and demolished it in 1888. The wind wasn't favorable, and the windmill was later powered by steam. See if you can find the plaque on the dry cleaners wall on what used to be the corner of Elizabeth and Theodosia Street, Timaru.