The Sawmill Experience

Shantytown's newest feature - the Sawmill Experience had its official opening in June 2008, a milestone event that marked the first visible sign of Shantytown's proposed redevelopment. The sawmill experience provides a taste of the exciting and innovative concepts that will emerge as Shantytown re-invents itself.

The new Shantytown Sawmill Experience enables visitors to follow a boardwalk through the mill itself, which seems to be working. Echoes from the past are evoked by historical footage that plays continuously on a giant screen at the rear of the building. An impression of what it was like working in an early sawmill is gained from seeing and hearing the piercing saw blades turning, and the rhythmic sound of the engines that powered the mill.

An interpretation area tells stories of some of the real people involved in sawmilling on the Coast, with authentic images and flip files containing quotes and recollections. The exit point is reached through a seemingly empty smoko room where visitors hear typical conversations that may have taken place during the period that sawmilling was a major West Coast industry.