The Premier Mill Hotel, c. 1891
The Premier Mill Hotel was first established in 1891 by Frederick Henry Piesse - farmer, visionary businessman, and politician - as the Premier Roller Flour Mill. After only a couple of decades as a flour mill, a remarkable story of adaptation followed, with the building used in power generation - the first supplier of the town’s electricity - aerated water and cordial manufacturing, viticulture, fruit processing, and retail hub with popular tea room ‘The Wattle’. In more recent times, thanks to local residents’ love of the building, it was purchased by the Shire of Katanning and used as a community arts & crafts centre and tourist bureau. By 2008, the building’s maintenance had become too costly, and its future looked bleak. The Mill was open to expressions of interest for just one dollar.
This was an opportunity to repurpose and save the Mill for future generations. With the current owner’s vision & passion for saving Western Australia’s built heritage, a significant and challenging restoration was completed over a number of years, with the Premier Mill Hotel opening in 2018. Careful preservation of the original features of the building, including the rough-hewn grain silo, steam boiler in the foyer, the original purifier, and the machinery and equipment on display throughout the rooms & common areas, has resulted in one of Australia’s most unique small luxury hotels. New elements were designed to complement the old, and the Mill’s history is celebrated at every turn.
The hotel has 22 rooms - 6 Boiler Rooms, 6 Silo Rooms, 6 Purifying Rooms, and 4 Packing Rooms, all named to reflect their original operational use. Silo Rooms are wrapped around the grain silo, constructed from rough-sawn solid jarrah in a unique interlocking pattern - now acting as the room walls. Two Silo rooms also have their own private courtyard terrace. Boiler Rooms are located next to a three level atrium, overlooking the 127 year old steam boiler that once powered the Mill. The space where wheat was once purified has been converted into the spacious Purifying Rooms, with vaulted ceilings & original beams, each with unique heritage features including original staircases, grain chutes & flywheel assemblies. Above the original chute that led to the transport wagons are the Packing Rooms, featuring exposed gantry-arms and pulley wheels.
All rooms have been individually designed without clutter, and feature king beds with premium heavy cotton sheets and oversized pillows (rollaway beds or cots available on request), large HDTVs with screencast capability & movies on demand, and Bang & Olufsen personal room sound. Luxurious bathrooms have a spa-like feel, with rainfall shower heads, brass tapware, plush towels and complimentary Aesop hair, skin & body care products. All furniture is bespoke, and designed & manufactured locally.
Each accommodation floor also has a guest valet, with tea and coffee facilities, extra pillows & blankets and ironing boards. Throughout the building are beautiful, cosy common areas to enjoy - unwind with a book from the the library, with its selection of exquisite Folio Society books. The foyer area, with large log fireplace is a great place to warm up. A welcoming place to connect, many a friendship has formed here between fellow travellers.
While breakfast is not included, the hotel’s atmospheric Dome café, situated in the heart of the old Mill, is open from 6am daily, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with great coffee and range of gourmet cakes & treats. Come evening, head underground to The Cordial Bar, housed in the Mill’s old machine room. A warmly-lit, intimate wine bar named in honour of founder Fred Piesse 1800’s enterprises, it’s the perfect place to end the day. Choose from the share plate menu that compliments an extensive range of wines and craft beers available from the Great Southern region.
Special Features
WiFi
Heritage Significance
Wine Bar
Luxe Amenities
Things To Do
Katanning is thought to come from the Indigenous word ‘Kartannin’, meaning ‘big meeting place’ - and as the largest town in the heart of the Upper Great Southern region, this still holds true today. In each room you’ll find a little black box containing booklets for guests to keep, including a self-guided tour of the hotel and its history, day trip suggestions, and regional map. The Katanning Saleyards are the largest undercover sheep saleyards in the Southern Hemisphere - see the trucks and dogs unload every Tuesday afternoon, and return the next morning to watch the auctions (tours available). For the young and young at heart, visit the All Ages playground with its refurbished giant play equipment. Stop in at the art gallery and Katanning Historical Society Museum, follow Western Australia’s iconic silo trail, or just relax with a picnic in Katnanning’s heritage rose garden, with rose bushes dating to the 1830s.
