Our Heritage

Now Australia’s only remaining industry-founding traditional family owned and operated Mill. We at Laucke Flour Mills can consider that our milling history commenced with the arrival of Friedrich Laucke, a miller, in South Australia in 1895.

View a pictorial history of Laucke Flour Mills

Friedrich Laucke arrived from Germany in his quest to “see the world”, ran out of money in Adelaide, and was hard at work milling for Edwin Davey & Sons in Salisbury ten weeks later. Friedrich worked for the company at several mills before he was forced to resign after contracting rheumatic fever. He left Davey and Sons vowing to “seek work, how and when he could, on his own account”.

Despite his illness, he was not idle, and in 1899 with the promise by local farmers of suitable grain, acquired control of the Greenock flour mill in the Barossa Valley, north of Adelaide.
Friedrich Laucke soon established levels of quality, service and integrity that earned the respect of his peers and the loyalty of his customers, establishing a tradition that continues to this day.

Friedrich’s brother in Germany had told him of engines that ran on ‘smoke’ and when the mill steam boiler exploded in 1905 for the third time in 17 years because of poor water quality, he climbed on the rubble, lit a cigar and declared he would rebuild.
He did, installing what was then new technology being the third Producer Gas engine in Australia. It was sourced from England and soon affectionately nicknamed as ‘Old Otto’. The rebuilt mill, using charcoal made on site from mallee stumps and old fence posts in an old boiler, was a resounding if unexpected success. This “new technology” engine was not entirely trusted at first and so was never housed in a building, yet it ran perfectly for 48 years until flour milling ceased at Greenock.

Friedrich Laucke had four sons and two daughters – and a perspective that only the sons could work in and own the business. The children were Therese, Hans, Max, Werner, Charlotte and Condor.

The business expanded over the years by acquiring further mills which were managed by the second generation sons – Strathalbyn in 1927 run by Hans; Angaston in 1933 run by Max; Eudunda in 1951 run by Vernie, and Stockwell also that year, run by Friedrich’s son-in-law Morris Zerna, under the supervision of Condor.

1956 was a watershed year for the Lauckes. Friedrich died and the first of the vertically integrated multinational milling and baking companies became established in Australia. The already competitive milling industry was placed under even more pressure as Australia, then the world’s largest flour exporter, progressively lost overseas flour trade.

Laucke continued to progress under the second generation. The original mill at Strathalbyn was replaced in 1961 by the first totally new mill built in South Australia for over 50 years.

In the 1970s, the third generation took over. Hans’s son Mark Laucke took over management of the Strathalbyn mill. Max’s sons were involved, with Max Jnr running the Angaston Mill, and Christopher ‘Kip’ Laucke went to manage the mill at Eudunda. Condor’s son, Condor Jnr, was turning the old Greenock mill into a feed mill.

The third generation elected to reshape the company in 1990. Mark Laucke and Condor Jnr bought the company, and milling was progressively rationalised.

In the year 2000, during their Centenary year, the family company further evolved.
Mark took individual control of Laucke Flour Milling, and Condor of Laucke Feed Milling.
Laucke Flour Mills acquired the former “Water Wheel” flour mill at Bridgewater on Loddon in Victoria. This mill, the only functional water-driven mill in the Southern Hemisphere, has a rich history, being continuously developed on one site for over 130 years. The Bridgewater Mill further enhances the ability of Laucke to reliably supply a broad range of bagged and bulk speciality products to eastern Australia and export markets.

Since then, the flour mills at Strathalbyn and Bridgewater have been continuously upgraded, with the ambience of fire, stone and polished wood conceding to the efficiencies of electricity, stainless steel and electronics.

In an industry now dominated by corporate giants, Laucke Flour Mills remains as the last of the original family-owned flour millers of Australia.
The third and fourth generations of Friedrich Laucke’s descendants continue to work in the business, with the first of the 5th generation of millers now with us and growing every day.
We all continue Friedrich’s tradition of hard work and innovative thinking, and maintain the family dedication of supporting our customers to the highest attainable standard.