Gantry

The gantry walkway at Mittagong Maltings runs its full length in a rhythm of wooden A-frame trusses, each one identical to the last. Corrugated iron lines the underside of the roof above, and faded tags mark the concrete floor at intervals along the run. At the far end, graffiti covers the wall from floor to ceiling. The photograph was made in 2014, when the site was open to the sky in places and closed to the public in others. The Maltings at Mittagong began construction in 1898 on land acquired from the Oaklands Estate, northeast of Mittagong railway station. The builder was Stuart Brothers of Sydney. Malthouse 1 was completed in August 1899 and began production immediately, with barley arriving by train at a private platform on the railway siding that ran adjacent to the complex. A new rail siding serving the site was completed in September 1899. Tooth and Co Ltd purchased the Malting Company's assets in 1905 and operated the facility for the next 75 years. Two further malthouses followed: Malthouse 2 in 1906-07, and Malthouse 3 in 1916, the latter connected to the first two by a light rail line and pedestrian bridge across Nattai Creek. A grain store was added in 1913. At peak production in the early 1940s, the Maltings produced approximately 200,000 bushels annually and employed an average of 27 men working up to four shifts daily. Production ceased in 1980. Tooth and Co cited financial difficulties and the availability of subcontracted malting services. The site was sold in 1981. Heritage NSW has assessed the Maltings as the only remaining example of a traditional maltings manufacturing facility in Australia. The gantry this photograph records stood through that 81-year operational life. The trusses that repeat across the frame carried the load. The graffiti at the far end arrived after the barley stopped.