As structures were needed quickly and were expected to be temporary, the demand for milled timber grew rapidly.

[1] One of Queensland's earliest major industrial enterprises was William Pettigrew's sawmill in Brisbane.

[1] The Grandchester sawmill is powered by steam and this factor makes it an unusual phenomenon in Queensland and Australia.

[1] The sawmill machinery is housed in a gabled structure with mono-pitched roof extension at one end under which the locomotive boiler sits minus its undercarriage.

A small pyramidal silo stands to the rear of the main sawmill structure which is used to store the sawdust for the boiler.

[1] Grandchester Sawmills was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

The small sawmill was opened in 1941 at a time when the Second World War demanded increased production of sawn timber in Queensland.

The continued success of the business is attributed to it responding to the changing demands for sawn timber in Queensland.

The saw mill has a long association with the Gillam family and their employees being owned and run by them since 1941 to the present day.