Discover the former Albion Explosives Factory Blackpowder Mill
The mill is the last remaining building of the Albion Explosives Factory and still works, come and see how it was central to the production of blackpowder
The Blackpowder mill in the Melbourne Suburb Cairnlea, sits along the banks of Kooroit Creek. It is the last remaining building of the former Albion Explosives Factory. The Black Powder Mill was one building among the 700 structures that made up the Albion Explosives Factory that was pivotal in munitions supply during World War Two.
The Albion Explosives Factory in Deer Park converted ammonia into nitric acid, which was then used to make cordite, fuse powder, and TNT.
This factory was Australia’s main producer of propellant and high explosives during World War Two and remained one of the primary military explosives and propellant factories up to the 1980s.
The Blackpowder Mill is possibly the only original plant and building in Australia which can effectively convey the key process in the manufacture of gunpowder manufacture.