TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS IN OUR COMPANY HISTORY
1879 . COMPANY WAS FOUNDED
The Sidney Williams & Company was first founded in 1879 in Rockhampton QLD. Sidney Williams specialised in direct acting mills and their accessories, by the name ‘COMET’. This is a exceedingly simple windmill, construction wise, and is totally reliable. The original ‘C ‘ pattern mill had sizes ranging from 6ft to 35ft. Now only 6ft to 14ft are available in ‘C’ pattern. The ‘D’ pattern mill is available in 16ft to 30ft.
1910. COMET STARTED GROWING
From 1910 through to 1925 various Windmill Patterns were introduced – namely ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’ of which most were superseded and replaced with today’s current Pattern sizes – ‘C’ Pattern (sizes 6, 8, 10, 12 14, 35ft) and ‘D’ Pattern (sizes 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, and 30ft).
1920 . MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHED IN DULWICH HILL
Manufacturing facilities were established in Dulwich Hill, Sydney in 1920. The engineering works at Dulwich Hill covered 2½ acres of ground. This was the largest and most-up-to-date Windmill Factory in Australia at the time.
1940’s . SUPPLIER FOR WWII
In the 1940’s the firm manufactured guns and equipment during the 2nd World War. Sidney Williams along with most other manufacturers was ordered to undertake the manufacture of items for the defence industry.
2002 . COMET MOVES TO MACKSVILLE
In 2002 Comet Windmills Australia Pty Ltd relocated to Macksville on the mid north coast of NSW in a cost cutting project and improve the company’s access to facilities and services.
2009 . AGREEMENT WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE WIND-TURBINES PTY LTD
In 2009 an agreement with High Performance Wind-Turbines Pty Ltd (HPW) an Australian based company was formalized. HPW has been working for over 12 years to formulate and create a new High Performance Wind-turbine (Vertical Axis) designed to supersede the current “eyesore” Fan Turbines located throughout Europe and here in Australia.