Dowerin Museum - Dowerin and Minnivale Bakeries

Eugene’s daughter Sheilagh married Alf Lynn, one of a family of local bakers. Samuel and Sophie Lynn had been farming with their 4 sons at Waeel between Meckering and Cunderdin, but salt encroachment and rabbits in the late 1920s made farming impossible.

Samuel Lynn was trained as a baker, and in 1927 he bought the Goomalling bakery with his sons from C.W. Bawley. They had one of the finest baking plants outside the metropolitan area, specializing in cakes and small goods.

Demand for their bread was such that in 1929 they opened a branch of their bakery in Lake Brown. In 1934 they bought the Dowerin and Minnivale Bakeries, and continued to expand their interests.

Alfred Lynn ran the Dowerin Bakery; Alan Lynn ran the Minnivale Bakery with his father Samuel; Robert Lynn ran the bakery at Cunderdin and Lewis Lynn was the baker at York. The Lynns were a baking dynasty in the Central Wheatbelt.

Alf Lynn’s bakery was in the Dowerin main street, where J.K. Williams’ shop is now. When the bakery oven was finally demolished the doors were retained and now sit in a brick façade, with some of the equipment Alf used.

Alf was also a confectioner, and sold his own and later commercial lollies. The counter, with its images of the goddess of grain, Ceres, meant lollies to the local children.

The local children were also Alf’s friends in the winter time, as it was cosy in by the oven, but the children all went elsewhere in the summer time, it was far too hot out there!