A round roofed stone building on Lake Alexandrina, a town that would not let it go, and everything you need for a weekend in Milang, whether or not you cook with us.
This is the story of the Milang butter factory on Lake Alexandrina and the town that saved it: what happened inside those stone walls, how the people of Milang bought it back, and how you can spend a weekend there and help it carry on.
We have taught Saturday classes at the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory, with a shared lunch at the long tables, and every time somebody pauses with flour on their hands and asks what this room used to be. This piece is our answer. It is the community’s story rather than ours, so we have told it from the factory’s own history page.
Alexandrina Council, whose area takes in Milang and the lake, acknowledges the Ngarrindjeri people’s ongoing connection to these lands and waters in the Kungun Ngarrindjeri Yunnan agreement of 2002. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the place we cook in, and we pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
What is the story of the Milang butter factory?
The factory opened on 3 July 1893 in the round roofed stone building, and that curved stone roof is still the shape your eye goes to when you arrive.
Milang butter did not stay local for long. In 1894 the factory’s butter went in tins to the Western Australian goldfields, a long way from a lake town in South Australia.
The factory closed in 1904 and reopened in 1915 under Murphy Fromen and Co. In those years cream came from Meningie twice a week on the paddle steamer P.S. Jupiter, which tells you how much of life around the lake once moved by water. The South Australian Farmers’ Union bought the business in 1919, and butter making stopped in the 1960s.
We teach people to make food by hand, so this part of the story lands with us. Every tin that left for the goldfields began as cream that somebody brought in and somebody worked. When guests stand at our bench on that same floor, stretching curd or rolling dough, they are doing small, patient work in a room that was built for exactly that.
How did the people of Milang save the factory?
In 2014 the factory and the manager’s cottage were put up for sale. It could easily have gone the way of many old country buildings. Instead, locals lobbied to save them.
On 29 July 2016 the Milang and District Community Association (MADCA) bought the factory with a $325,000 grant from Alexandrina Council and its own funds. In October 2021 a federal Building Better Regions Fund grant of $440,000 was approved to restore the manager’s residence and the factory.
Grants buy materials. People did the rest. Volunteers stripped the engine shed, put on a new roof and made the garden, and a volunteer work crew still meets every Thursday. The factory is a State Heritage Place, listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.
Walk in today and you will find:
- a museum
- an events space on the old factory floor
- café seating, with the café kitchen in the back of the restored manager’s cottage, the very building that was up for sale in 2014
- an Already Read bookshop in the former can washing shed, where Already Read Books raises funds
The factory hosts community events, exhibitions, markets and classes, ours among them. That is what the town gains: a working building rather than a memory. What you gain as a visitor is a place you can simply walk into on a weekend, a history the town kept for itself, and a seat in a room that was very nearly lost.
What are the best things to do in Milang on a weekend?
You do not need a class booking to make a good day of it. Milang is about 71 km south east of Adelaide and about 20 km north east of Goolwa, and three of the stops below are on Daranda Terrace by the lake. Here are the things to do in Milang we would point a friend towards.
Start at the factory
The Milang Lakeside Butter Factory lists its hours as Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm, and entry is listed as free. It is run by MADCA on Daranda Terrace, and you can email milangbutterfactory@madca.org.au. A 2023 notice had Already Read Books open fortnightly on weekends, 10am to 3pm, so check before you plan around the bookshop.
Kanoetree Wines cellar door
Kanoetree Wines, a boutique Langhorne Creek winery, opened a cellar door in the restored factory in 2024, at 23 Daranda Terrace. It is listed as open Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm, though one Langhorne Creek listing shows 5pm, so confirm the closing time before you go.
Port Milang Historic Railway Museum
The Port Milang Historic Railway Museum is on Daranda Terrace, on the lake shore, on the site of the old railway station. It is open Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 4pm, and other times by appointment on 0414 232 060. Entry is free and donations are welcome. There is a train driving simulator in the cab of SAR diesel 351, free rides on a 1940 munitions railway on weekend afternoons, a playground and picnic area next door, and Devonshire teas on Sundays.
The Milang Historical Walk and the jetty
The Milang Historical Walk starts at the Railway Museum and takes in the station, the old butter factory, the Milang Institute, the post office and police station, the churches and the jetty. It is the best way we know to see the factory as part of a whole town rather than on its own.
The walk finishes at the jetty, which we think is the best spot in town to look out over Lake Alexandrina.
Lake Alexandrina
Lake Alexandrina is the great lake at the end of the River Murray. Boating, fishing and swimming are all listed as things to do on it. Even if you only sit by the water for an hour, give yourself time with it. The lake is the reason the town, the jetty and the factory are all here.
A simple order for a Saturday or Sunday:
- Morning: the Historical Walk from the Railway Museum.
- Late morning: the factory, its museum and the bookshop.
- Afternoon: Kanoetree Wines, then back to the Railway Museum for the weekend afternoon rides.
- Before you leave: the jetty and the lake.
How can you help the Milang butter factory, and when do we cook there again?
The factory keeps going because people keep turning up. You can volunteer at the factory, where a work crew meets every Thursday, or donate to the factory directly. If you have a gathering to plan, the factory can be hired: its function room is listed on Spacetoco for up to 100 people, for a minimum of one hour, and the commercial kitchen can be booked with it.
As for us, the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory is a venue we return to in 2027. There are no Milang sessions on sale yet, and we would rather tell you that plainly than hint at a date we do not have. When one appears, it will be on our classes page.
Until then, the one thing we would ask is this: back the factory. Give it a Thursday with the work crew or a donation, and when we are back at those long tables with flour on the bench and lunch to share, there will be a seat waiting for you in a room the town saved.
Common questions
Is the Milang butter factory open on weekdays?
Its listed hours are weekends only: Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm, according to the factory’s own footer. Check the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory website before you travel for any change or special event.
Is there a cafe at the Milang butter factory?
Yes. The factory has café seating, and the café kitchen is in the back of the restored manager’s cottage. Check the factory’s website for current café days before you go.
Is entry to the Milang butter factory free?
Yes, entry is listed as free. The factory is listed as open Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm. See the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory site for current details.
When was the Milang butter factory built?
It opened on 3 July 1893 in the round roofed stone building. In 1894 its butter went in tins to the Western Australian goldfields. Read the full timeline on the factory’s history page.
Who owns the Milang butter factory now?
The Milang and District Community Association (MADCA) owns it. MADCA bought the factory on 29 July 2016 with a $325,000 grant from Alexandrina Council and its own funds, as the history page explains.
How was the Milang butter factory restored?
With community funds, a federal grant and volunteer work. A Building Better Regions Fund grant of $440,000 was approved in October 2021 to restore the manager’s residence and the factory, and volunteers stripped the engine shed, put on a new roof and made the garden.
Is the Milang butter factory heritage listed?
Yes. It is a State Heritage Place, listed on the South Australian Heritage Register, according to the factory’s history page.
Can you hire the Milang butter factory for a function?
Yes. The factory can be hired. Its function room is listed on Spacetoco for up to 100 people, minimum one hour, and the commercial kitchen can be booked with it.
How do I volunteer at the Milang butter factory?
Start on the factory’s volunteering page. A volunteer work crew meets every Thursday, and the restoration itself was carried by volunteers.
How can I donate to the Milang butter factory?
You can give directly through the factory’s donate page. The factory is owned and run by the Milang and District Community Association.
Is there a winery at the Milang butter factory?
Yes. Kanoetree Wines, a boutique Langhorne Creek winery, opened a cellar door in the restored Milang Lakeside Butter Factory in 2024. It is listed as open Saturday and Sunday from 11am, with closing shown as 4pm or 5pm, so confirm before you go.
What is there to do in Milang?
Start at the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory, then add the Port Milang Historic Railway Museum, the Milang Historical Walk, Milang Jetty and time on Lake Alexandrina for boating, fishing or swimming.
Does Fleurieu Food and Wine run cooking classes at the Milang butter factory?
Yes, and we return there in 2027. Classes at the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory are Saturday classes with a shared lunch. No Milang sessions are on sale yet, so watch our classes page for dates.
Where is the Milang butter factory?
It is on Daranda Terrace, Milang, beside Lake Alexandrina, about 71 km south east of Adelaide and about 20 km north east of Goolwa. Contact details are on the factory’s website.
Cook while you are here
Here is what is coming up in Milang and Lake Alexandrina.
New class dates are being added. Please check back soon.
