3-076-427 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Mt Tamborine water wheel, Queensland, 1892. Four men near the waterwheel in Mt Tamborine. Additional Info: The water wheel powered a circular saw to cut timber around Curtis Falls, Mt Tamborine. Curtis Falls were named after the Curtis family. Several siblings moved to Tamborine Mountain in the late 1870s, not long after the first Europeans arrived on the plateau. Before and after settlement, timber getting was a means of earning a living and several timber mills were established at various times. In 1889 the Curtis brothers, Sydney, Edgar and Clifford built a small steam mill with a 73m water wheel about 40 to 60m upstream of the falls.