Matthew Munn

Mathew Munn was a shawl maker from Scotland who acquired the knowledge of making cornflour (which had been developed in 1854, originally to make starch for shawl makers) whilst working for the Brown and Polson company. He arrived in Melbourne in 1856.

Hearing of an unused flour mill in Merimbula, and with backing from the Twofold Bay Pastoral Association, he moved to Merimbula (originally a private village established by the Twofold Bay Pastoral Association in 1855) in 1865 and converted the mill to produce cornflour.

His ‘Maizena’ works began production in 1867. It was soon producing 300 tons of cornflour a week. Corn bran, a waste product in the manufacturing process, was fed to about 500 pigs that were penned behind his works before they became ham and bacon that was shipped to Sydney.

In 1873 Matthew Munn began building a house, which he called ‘Courunga’ (now often referred to as ‘Munn’s Tower House’), as a wedding present for his son, Armstrong. It is now a prominent landmark in town, but at the time reflected the social and economic prominence of the Munn family.

Mathew Munn died in 1873 and Armstrong Munn took over management of the company that then owned the mill, shops, houses for employees and several surrounding farms that supplied maize to the factory.

By the beginning of the 20th century a large portion of Merimbula township was owned by the Munn family.

Image: Munn’s substantial stone building fronting Market Street, Merimbula.