Toodyay Things to Do

The Tourist Centre is behind Connors Mill. You can buy your tickets to the Mill here or to the Old Gaol. They have the usual information on local and more broader areas as well as local products and crafts for sale. Within the centre is also Ye Olde Lolly Shoppe.

Situated on the main street, this is a 50's styled cafe full of coca cola memorabilia. The collection has been accumulated over 40 years and no matter where you are sitting inside the cafe you will be confronted but all sorts of coca cola bits and pieces. Out the front you can dine al fresco.

The cafe is open 7 days a week Mon to Fri 9.00am to 5.00pm, Fri Steak House from 6.30pm to 9.00pm and Sat to Sunday from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

This is one of Toodyays more popular parks. There are gas barbecue facilities, tables, toilets with wheelchair access. The name Duidgee Park comes from the Aborigine word meaning 'Place of Plenty'' There are some established bush walks as well as an operating miniature railway.

The Pickling machine cleaned the wheat of the 'trash' or impurities. Wheat was fed in at the top, the handled was rotated and an internal fan operated by the farmer blew away the lighter rubbish. Graduated grit trays were shaken which then separated large objects on the top tray which allowed the smaller objects to pass through to the 'sand tray'. The cleaned wheat was then separated out and removed to the conveyor which held cups which were attached to a chain or belt. It was then carried to be treated or 'pickled'. The term pickling came from the use of copper sulphate solution which was used to protect the grain against fungal disease and insects.

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After building his mill, he also acquired the Freemasons Hotel and farming properties known as 'Hawthornden' and 'Wicklow Hills'. He then subdivided 150 acres into town lots in what is now North Toodyay. If that wasn't enough, he then moved into buying in Perth and purchased the Savoy Hotel (The Shamrock Hotel) and land in Barrack, Hay, Murray, Irwin Sts and St Georges Tce as well as property in Fremantle, Subiaco, Nedlands and Wanneroo. Connor became the largest single landowner in the city at that time.

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The church was built in 1862 for Reverend Charles Harper. He had been given a grant of just 25 pounds in 1949 to build a church. The original church was mud brick and there was no external woodwork except for the shingle roof. The site of the first church is now marked by restored pioneer graves in Avon Terrace. In the churchyard there is a wooden bell tower and large Flood Gum Tree.

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Dan Connor was also director of the Stanley Brewery (now known as Emu) and was also the found of the Port Brewery in Fremantle. He also served for a long time on the Road Board as well as holding position of Chairman for around 20 years.

Dan Connors cottage is just up behind the mill and store he built. A labourer from Ireland, Dan arrived in Western Australia in 1853 at the age of 26. In 1859 he married an Irish girl, Catherine Conway and bough 50 acres of land at Jane Brook. In 1861 he moved to Toodyay which at the time was known as Newcastle and built his store and house.