Visit our Mill
Each year, over 30,000 visitors make the journey to our little town to tour Nundle Woollen Mill.
In our regular tours, visitors marvel at our antique machines humming away as they work their magic to turn bales of the finest Australian merino wool into yarns in the vibrant colours for which we have become famous.
A visit to the Mill is a chance to reconnect with Australia’s wool heritage and browse our yarns, clothing and accessories.
We have been finalists and winners in the Australian Tourism Awards, New South Wales Tourism Awards and Inland Tourism Awards.
We welcome independent travellers and groups.
For all tour bookings, please call 1300 NUNDLE (1300 686 353).
Guided tours
11am & 2pm Monday to Friday (allow 45 mins)
Tour $5.00 per head. We offer a $5.00 voucher to spend in store on the day, valid for purchases over $15.
The tour fee is to secure your place on the tour.
We cap the tour at a maximum of 15 people so we can maintain social distancing.
Tours at other times by arrangement:
Cost $5.00/head (minimum 8 people)
$5.00 voucher is NOT offered with these tours
Country Style lunch in the Woollen Mill gardens
Minimum 15 people
The Oakenville Store is able to offer the following lunch when booked 7 days prior to requirement:
This lunch includes a locally sourced seasonal veggie soup with Hanging Rock sourdough bread, slow cooked local lamb with scallop potatoes and a homemade cake with tea and coffee to finish.
Cost: $25.00 / head
The menu is subject to change without notice and will consider seasonal availability of indicated items.
About Nundle Woollen Mill
Visitors to Nundle Woollen Mill are sometimes surprised that it’s so young, having first opened on Australia Day 2001.
What gives the Mill its aura of history? Perhaps it’s the machinery housed inside.
Most of it has been sourced from long dormant mills and lovingly restored.
Everything we do is driven by three passions.
We want to add an element of entertainment to craft supplies.
We want our customers to feel attractive and fashionable in the garments we sell.
And we want to create a reconnection with Australia’s wool heritage.
Do come and visit us.
Nick & Kylie Bradford and team
Nundle Woollen Mill is located in Oakenville Street in the historic village of Nundle, 60 kilometres south of Tamworth in north-west NSW. The Kamilaroi people are the traditional custodians of the land on which Nundle sits, with ‘Nundle’ being a derivative of ‘Nuntal’, the Kamilaroi name for the ridgeline above the village, meaning “mouth”. The Kamilaroi people recognised the importance of this area as the ridgeline forms the mouth of the start of three river systems, the Peel River from the ridgeline towards the west, the Isis River which flows into the Hunter River to the South and the Barnyard River to the East. This is a unique part of the Great Dividing Range where three river systems originate from such a small part of the ridgeline.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the country where Nundle Woollen Mill stands today and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Our clever customers
Many customers have become friends. They share photos of the garments and soft furnishings they create with our yarns. They share patterns, stories and tips.
Some of our customers learnt to knit from their country grandmothers. Some knit with friends in inner city cafés. Some have turned their love of knitting into thriving businesses. Others create fine art.
Our customers make us look good with their creativity.
Our machines
Woollen mills were once common in Australia. Today some of the machines that operated in these defunct mills now hum productively in our Mill.
Several of our machines were relocated from the JL McGregor Mill in Geelong, Victoria to Nundle in 2000.
They were manufactured by famous textile machinery manufactures and have been passionately restored by us.
Our wool
Our traditionally made 8 ply, 20 ply and 72 ply feltable yarns originate from our farming partner, the Youl family at Elsdon.
Elsdon is a mixed farming operation situated in the Northern Midlands of Tasmania, 20 minutes south of Launceston. The property has been in the Youl family for over 200 years. Alex Youl is the 6th generation to manage the farm with his wife Liana and their children Sebastian and Louis.
The Elsdon Polwarth Studs were founded in the 1930s, by Alex’s great grandfather FVM Youl. On his retirement, Alex’s grandfather Bill and wife Kate took over the management of Elsdon, with their sons Frank and Crosby. Bill encouraged his sons to change direction, breeding Merino sheep under the guidance of Sandy MacKirdy from Hamilton in Victoria. Upon Bill’s early death in 1985, Crosby and Anne took over the management of the Stud and commercial operation.
With a significant investment of stud ewes and sires from Nareeb Nareeb, Ashrose and East Roseville, Elsdon has been able to produce sheep which are commercially competitive with anything that is bred within Tasmania or Victoria.
2005 was the last year that Elsdon sold stud rams. The stud rams and ewes remained on the property to become part of the commercial operation.
In the last 10 years Elsdon has focussed on breeding a modern Poll Merino with a plainer body and early maturing with high fertility. Their sires are being purchased from Glenlea Park in South Australia and Borana in Glen Thompson, Victoria.
Today, the Youl family grows crops to provide a grazing component for the livestock enterprises. This has been a winning combination with great results, increasing wool production of a superior standard.
The Youls feel privileged to provide the Nundle Woollen Mill with wool from Elsdon. To see the product from start to finish produced entirely in Australia is extremely satisfying.
Elsdon is committed to the health and welfare of their animals and the future of the Merino wool industry.
Our store
Even if you can’t get to the Mill, you can still buy the products we make and sell.
Click here to visit our online store.
We hope you find what you’re looking for.
Do call us if you have any questions.
Nundle’s story
Nundle was one of the first wool producing areas in Australia, with the first land grants in the region being to the Australian Agricultural Company in 1837 (Goonoo Goonoo Station) and the Wombramurra Station in 1847.
The village of Nundle was established in 1853 on the northern corner of the Wombramurra run. Set on the banks of the Peel River, the village grew out of the gold rushes and there are several buildings and relics dating from this period.
By the 1860s the Nundle area was famous throughout the UK and Europe for producing the finest merino wool in the world, a tradition we aim to keep alive with the Mill.
Nundle is about 4½ hours from Sydney and 50 minutes from Tamworth.
Awards
The greatest reward for the passion we put into the Mill is that 30,000 people choose to travel here each year, to reconnect with Australia’s rich wool heritage and to see a traditional woollen mill in operation. We’re honoured that our Mill has been recognised in regional, state and national tourism awards.
Get in touch
Location:
35 Oakenville St
Nundle, NSW, 2340
AUSTRALIA
Tel: 1300 N-U-N-D-L-E (1300 686 353)
Tel: + 61 2 6769 3330
Hours:
10:00AM to 4:00PM , seven days.
Mill Machinery operates Monday to Friday ONLY